563 - 568
Chapter 563: The Surging Waves from the New Era
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
In the Parliament of Nobles in Cocus, the Duchy of Calais.
"All my words and promises will be written in the Code. I, as well as the future kings, and queens will abide by the law just as all you nobles! The Congress of Magic will be the supervisor!"
When the nobles heard those words from Natasha, none of them could remain calm anymore. However, a second later, after an incredibly loud explosion, the voice had been completely cut off, and there were only electric currents left.
"What happened?"
"What's going on?"
"Something happened to Nekso Palace?! Was it because of the war among those legendaries?"
"Was it the Church? Or the Congress?"
Yourcenar, Song of Dusk, looked northwest where the city of Rentato was.
As a legendary knight, he could see the picture: There was that burning sun radiating its endless light and power in the sky, and then an eye-catching mushroom cloud rose.
At this time, Joaquin, the president of Moonsong League, walked in the front gate. His face was lit up with the wild joy. He claimed aloud, "The electromagnetic signal has been interrupted. That means Eternal Blaze had been successfully launched!"
"Eternal Blaze?" Yourcenar repeated the words confusedly. He never heard such a powerful legendary spell.
But he did not ask, knowing that the information Joaquin had was also rather limited. He supposed that all the communication in Rentato had all been cut off.
Joaquin's joy and confidence influenced the nobles. Recalling Natasha's speech, their hearts were thudding like crazy. The drive and excitement they were experiencing were like flames making them feel rather restless. Some of the nobles were now looking at the Grand Duke of Calais, and the rest was looking at Yourcenar, as if they were begging him.
Yourcenar released a sigh and there was no more hesitation. He walked to the Grand Duke and kneeled down on one knee,
"Your Majesty, the old era has ended, and the new one is coming. Please give the order to expel the extreme South Church and only keep the Moderates as the duchy's religion!"
Under his lead, all the nobles stood up and kneeled down together,
"Your Majesty, please give the order to be ready for the new era!"
The voices joined, lingering in the parliament hall like surging waves. No one dared to block it, as the trend was totally inevitable!
The Grand Duke of the Duchy of Calais knew that there was no way that he could reject this. The shackle of the old era had been destroyed, and the new order was forming. At this moment, even the majesties had to obey the trend of the times, or they would be thrown out of their thrones as the nobles would regard them as betrayers who served the Church.
There was no other choice left to the Grand Duke. His family had not yet produced a legendary knight. Therefore, he stood up and announced aloud,
"I, the Grand Duke of the Duchy of Calais, here give the order to expel the South Church but keep the Moderates!"
"Here I swear by my soul and my destiny to the Lord of Hell, I will return the power to you like how the Kingdom of Holm is going to do!"
Yourcenar and the rest of the nobles smiled,
"We pledge our lifelong allegiance to Your Majesty!"
...
In Salyvaor, the capital of Brianne.
Bedrenka, Hammer of the Void, and Basor, Knight of Disasters, kneeled down in front of the king of Brianne. Behind them were the members of the Parliament of Nobles,
"Your Majesty, this is unstoppable and inevitable. Please make your decision as soon as possible. If the Congress wins the war on its own, we'll be of no use to them!"
...
Colette.
No matter how old Life Reaper was, he now looked like a cheerful teenager with light brown hair. However, at this moment, the smile on his face had completely disappeared. And he was kneeling down as the rest of the nobles and said,
"Your Magic, the new era is coming, and we have to get ready. Please give the order to assist the Congress of Magic!"
...
In Kasvig, the capital of the city union of the coastal Northland.
As the leader, Burning Lady herself was rather inspired by Natasha's speech, as Natasha's words had given her the way to strengthen the loose union. Also, she had got the news sent back from Brianne, Colette, and Calais. Like a red rose, she smiled, and then she stood up,
"The new era is right there. So I am going to assist the Congress of Magic and reform the city union. Does everyone agree?"
The nobles all kneeled down out of joy, "All as you wish, my Lord."
No one dared to say no at this moment.
...
After the Grand Duke of the Duchy of Calais gave the order, Song of Dusk had left the hall and soared into the sky to find Torrens. He was going to give an extra strike to Torrens, so that the beginning of the new era would mark his name.
However, far before he approached, Torrens, Angel of Wisdom, had quickly dodged to the other side to avoid the breath of the rainbow dragon. After casting the divine spell to make sure that Erica could not lock onto him for a short period of time, Torrens cast something like Chaos Teleportation and ran away from the battlefield.
Yourcenar was quite confused. How did Torrens know that he was not here to help?
Seeing that Yourcenar had no intention of attacking her, Erica returned to her human form. She smiled, "I was about to run away as well, as anyone approaching right now can be an enemy. It doesn't do harm to come back after making sure who are enemies and who are not."
She got a bit distracted by Song of Dusk's arrival, or she would have been able to keep Torrens here.
Yourcenar realized that Erica was right. Running away was the best option for Torrens no matter if he was an enemy or ally. Torrens could always come back later if Yourcenar was here to help.
"There's no time for acting. I'll stay here to protect Calais, in case Torrens will come back. You go to Rentato." said Yourcenar. Although Torrens knew that it would be more direct and of symbolic meaning if he went to Rentato himself, but the Congress of Magic might doubt his true intention. At this point, the last thing he wanted to do was to distract the congress. Erica going back to Rentato and meeting the legendary archmages and grand cardinals would explain everything, as the teleportation circle connecting Cocus and the Holy City had been destroyed.
Erica nodded, although she was still on her full alert facing Yourcenar. Using Teleportation, she left for Rentato. It was not safe right now using the teleportation circle to go back as the energy storm was too powerful.
In the coastal Northland, the situation was pretty much the same. The Grand Cardinal fighting there also found a chance and sneaked away. But Ines did not get this lucky in Colette, as he was facing Lord of the Undead. Running away had cost him an arm and a leg. The terrible injury had reduced him from level-two legendary to one, and it was going to be extremely difficult for him to recover from it.
...
When the dazzling light appeared in the sky, Oliver, Hellen, and Hathaway all instantly turned around and flew towards the opposite direction as fast as they could.
They would not have to be in such a mess if Paradise on Earth had not blocked all the teleportation magic spells.
From a distance, then they all cast the defensive legendary spells that they were good at.
The rest of the legendary sorcerers also had no intention to prevent the grand cardinals from running away. Even if the cardinals all managed to run away from the battlefield, it would still cost them hours to recover and come back. And if they were all killed, the Church would definitely send more powerful grand cardinals here who would do much more damage to Allyn and destroy the legendaries' resurrection tools. In addition, as the Grand Cardinals were not enough close to the central explosion area, the explosion might not be able to kill them but instead, severely hurt them.
Boom!
The "sun" rose, and its light was so bright that it had deprived their eyes of all the colors they could see. Only white was left in their pupils. Then a strange-shaped mushroom cloud slowly rose. After the deafening explosion, the cloud rose in silence but the scene was beyond shocking.
The holy light was dissipated within a second, and then Paradise on Earth started cracking and collapsing like a glass toy.
Mecantron spat out a full gulp of golden blood, and his eighteen pairs of wings suddenly dimmed. The wings were now shaking and swaying like dry tree branches in the horrible storm and high temperature. Paradise on Earth was built based on his power.
When Douglas turned to protect himself from the power of Eternal Blaze, Mecantron seized the chance and kneeled down,
"Whoever prays in your name shall not be harmed."
The illusionary waves spread out from Mecantron, and his target was the huge-scale transmission circle.
Paradise on Earth kept cracking, as the power of the "sun" extended to every corner of Rentato. The huge-scale transmission circle also started cracking, but at the edge of being completely destroyed, God's Guard saved it.
Mecantron suffered more from casting God's Guard. More blood came out from his mouth, and his aura had been greatly weakened.
After completely cracking Paradise on Earth, the remaining energy of the storm kept going. The divine power barrier activated by Lucien had also been severely damaged. In the end, it slowly disappeared.
The west side of the city of Rentato remained almost intact, but the noble district in the east had been razed to the ground. If it had not been that the legendary fight had driven people to the west or close to Nekso Palace, much more severe casualties would surely have ensued.
Nekso Palace was under the core divine power protection. Under the remaining waves of Eternal Blaze, it managed to remain intact.
The nobles looked out from the windows. Their hearts were bleeding – Their houses, treasures, and collections were all gone!
Within the central area of the explosion, the cloud and smoke slowly scattered and disappeared. Melmax, Holy Avenger, was now in a great mess: His legendary armor was now only left with a few pieces hanging, and half of his body had gone from vaporization. Fortunately, the sword in his right hand had not been completely destroyed. But now his power had been greatly reduced to the lowest level as a legendary.
The two saints behind him were even more severely hurt. Anasta and Maria had been burnt black, and now they were struggling to cure themselves.
The power of faith was draining, and their power had been reduced by one rank. They had to thank Melmax for standing in front of them to take the explosion, or the damage would have remained permanent.
As for Anthony and Augusta, who were standing further from Melmax and who were not as powerful as them, had been completely evaporated. Nothing of them remained.
"My two saints…!"
Melmax's eyes had tears in them.
At this time, as if he felt something, Melmax looked up in the sky. He saw the pope slowly appearing in the sky, who now looked much older.
Finally, His Holiness came back! Melmax was thrilled.
Seeing the arrival of Benedict II, the grand arcanists and legendary archmages were suddenly all on full alert.
Melmax's joy did not last long, as he sensed that a series of body explosions started happening. The bodies of twenty red robes, over a hundred cardinals, over a thousand priests and the same number of angels exploded one by one, as if the damage occurred to Paradise on Earth had reflected to them.
However, the creepy explosions did not hurt anyone around. The blood, flesh, and tissues joined each other and rose into the sky. A dark-red gate was formed in the air, on which there were messy patterns and symbols.
The gate was suddenly pushed open. A monster reached out its palm.
The look of the monster was beyond description of words. It was all messed up: It had over a hundred eyes, a dozen of heads, hands, claws and feet from countless creatures. The flesh ball was even wriggling changing constantly.
As soon as it appeared, the chaotic, evil power spread out. Its power formed a black ball, and the target was the pope!
While the Lord of Hell formed because of the sins from desire, this thing formed for no reason but just for pure slaughter and devastation.
"The Will of Abyss…" Benedict II's face went pale.
At this time, the sun in the sky suddenly appeared, and a full moon appeared. Its target was also Benedict II!
They would kill you while you are sick and weak!
Chapter 564: Bliss
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The unexpected changed stunned the legendary experts in midair. The battle that had been temporarily split because of 'Eternal Blaze' was still on hold. Everybody focused their eyes on the two demigods who were attacking Benedict II, waiting for a final result.
However, the two parties had opposite feelings. The legendary sorcerers were both delighted and worried. The Will of Abyss was known for his fervency and insanity. After the pope was killed by him, he would definitely launch an indiscriminate slaughter and destruction. Then, the area that the Congress was headquartered would suffer heavy losses. Chances were that only Douglas, Brook, Hathaway and the few other grand arcanists could survive.
After all, the pope would consider whether his battle with Douglas would affect the people of his own side. Therefore, it was easy to stall him. The Will of Abyss, on the other hand, did not have such concerns. Even if the devil lords were here, he would still kill them without any hesitation.
"This is something too chaotic to have a real name and cannot be described…" Douglas thought to himself, frowning.
'Will of Abyss' was a nickname that the ancient dragons game to him so that they could refer to him.
If he was not defeated by the pope, the sorcerers would have to count on the Silver Moon's help.
Silver Moon Alterna, however, was best known for his lack of interest in unimportant affairs. He observed the world like a real world and barely intervened.
"I would have to go up…" Douglas would rather face the pope. At least, the pope would consider his own life cost when he performed God's Arrival, but the Will of Abyss might detonate himself and spent tremendous time recovering in the abyss. He never counted whether it was cost-effective.
The only thing that reassured Douglas was that Melmax and the Angel King had been heavily wounded. By the time Brook came back, everything would be settled.
The Grand Cardinals had nothing but fear and worries. Should His Holiness perish here, he would be the first pope who died in a battlefield, which would be a major blow to the Church's confidence. Also, if the enemy won, it remained to be seen how many of them could make it back.
Seeing the new situation, Mecantron dropped the idea of wasting several more legendary experts of the Church. After all, if another few saint cardinals and divine knights were killed, the Church would be attacked by all the enemies, like what the Magic Empire suffered in the past. His plan could only be carried out based on the Church.
"Gather in the transmission magic circles and return to Lance. I will resist them for now with God's Guard."
Mecantron's voice echoed in every Grand Cardinal's heart, making them less worried. They began to approach the massive transmission magic circles.
Whatever happened to His Holiness, the Church would survive it as long as the Lord's grace was still there! The Angel King had shown his attitude!
In the sky on the east of the city, 'Night Walker' Winston and 'Heart of Time' Kritonia were also split, watching the falling silver moon and the destructive ball hitting the pope unavoidably.
"Mr. Kritonia, do you see this? The result is already destined…" Winston would rather not fight if he could persuade the enemy to give up.
Kritonia seemed to have grown old by many years all of a sudden. He fell into sorrow and silence looking at the high sky.
The full-strength attacks of the two demigods were about to hit the pope, when new changes happened in the high sky. Overwhelming, sacred ivory light suddenly glowed inside the pope, freezing the time and space around. The silver moon and the chaos could only move forward slowly.
With a peaceful and pious smile on his face, and devoting his body and his soul, Benedict II raised his staff and chanted:
"You are one, and everyone."
"you are the moment, and forever."
"You are the creator, and master."
"After every prayer, his body would become much dimmer. In Rentato, in the cities of Holm and Brentis, in Lance… all the clerics and believers were touched again. They kneeled and followed him to pray in peace and delight:
"You are one, and everyone."
"you are the moment, and forever."
…
"His Holiness has used 'God's Arrival' again…" Melmax, Anasta, Maria and other supporters of the pope had obvious grief and pain. They knew the price of God's Arrival.
With His Holiness' capability as a demigod, he was not necessarily going to be killed by 'Silver Moon' and 'Abyss' even if he were heavily wounded, but to banish the two demigods, he still chose 'God's Arrival'…
A clear projection of Mountain Paradise appeared behind Benedict II. The holy spirits and angels from the first to the fifth floor chanted, while light flowed out of their body and gathered towards the sixth and seventh floors.
The six seraphs on the sixth floor all crossed their hands and kneeled on the ground, as if they were praying.
In the next, the holy light surged into the top floor, paying tributes to the boundless, indescribable brilliance.
Looking at 'Silver Moon' and 'Abyss', Benedict II said solemnly:
"This is the fairest judgment from the Supreme Lord. The undead and the evils shall be purged."
The holy light in the projection of Mountain Paradise burst out. Silver Moon glittered, and Abyss revealed the deepest and most chaotic darkness.
All colors and voices were seized. The legendary experts could only sense the things within one meter with their spiritual power.
Suddenly, a most miserable scream echoed, and everybody's lost senses were back. Hathaway saw that the uncanny meatball had many deep cracks. Countless limbs, eyes and heads were bursting out. It flew back into the crimson gate as if it were blown by airwaves. Then, the gate quickly rotted and disappeared.
In the meantime, a silver moon rose again, but it was much more lackluster and gradually eclipsed by the sun.
The aftermath rushed towards Rentato unstoppably. Her silver eyes constricting, Hathaway said in a low voice: "Elemental Protection."
Gold, silver, white and black spots of light gathered into a sphere and covered the city.
"Magnetic Collapse."
As the voices echoed, another dark, twisting space was added outside of the shield of elements, which absorbed more than half of the aftermath. The rest of it was blocked by 'Elemental Protection'.
The previous God's Arrival had exiled the two demigods?
Although they had seen it coming, such a terrifying combat ability still made Douglas and Melmax look around gravely.
High in the sky, Benedict II was still holding his staff.
"Is His Holiness alright?"
All the Grand Cardinals felt delighted.
The delight of the legendary sorcerers who saw that Brook was back, on the other hand, was replaced by heavy pressure. How many 'God's Arrivals' could Benedict II still perform?
Suddenly, as wind passed by, Benedict II's clothes turned into broken light. Then, his hands, feet, torso and head were all shattered into spots of light and disappeared into the air, reflecting dreamy and shocking colors under the illumination of the sun.
Unpredictable hymns and music echoed, as if the God of Truth was guiding his spokesperson on earth to return to Mountain Paradise.
"His Holiness has been summoned by the Lord…"
Melmax murmured. It was the first pope who had died in a battle.
"The pope has perished…"
Douglas immediately realized what was going on. Performing a massive telepathic bond, he commanded other legendary sorcerers, "Surround and kill them!"
The Congress of Magic did not have such a huge appetite at the beginning, because Douglas was well aware of their gap with the South Church. They had never thought to fight a life-and-death battle with the Church.
Their target had always been to eliminate two to three Grand Cardinals with 'Eternal Blaze' that the Church did not know about. Through such a deterrence and the Dark Congress' attack in the back, they could coerce the nobles to take their side and force the Church to end the war and evacuate from this side of the Storm Strait.
In short, they attempted to bolster peace through war!
But now that the pope had died on the battlefield, Douglas naturally changed his target accordingly. His new goal was to kill as many Grand Cardinals of the Church as possible.
...
On the northeast of the city, Kritonia's face changed greatly after he saw the pope's demise. When Winston was about to persuade him to surrender again, he suddenly unleashed the most intense attacks that almost suffocated Winston.
Then, all the pressure on Winston was gone, as Kritonia flew far away.
"It seems that he doesn't believe he will end well if he surrenders."
"If he wanders out there, the queen will have concerns when she deals with his family members. After all, it's hard to resist the assassinations and sabotage of a legendary expert… This is also sort of a balance…"
"However, Mr. Kritonia, you're almost eight hundred years old. Even though you master the power of time, how much longer can you live? As time goes by…"
Regular legendary knights had a longevity of five hundred years. If they advanced into the third level of legendary, they could live another hundred years.
...
The gravity around changed and made it impossible for them to move. Melmax immediately understood what Douglas thought. At this moment, only a couple of the Grand Cardinals had entered 'God's Guard' and were about to step into the transmission magic circles. The other people were still far away, including himself and Anasta and Maria behind him.
Suddenly, Benedict II's remaining staff went into a free fall. In a fabulous trace, it passed Douglas' gravitational field and Brook's magnetic field and fell to the ground.
Anasta's eyes became so deep and profound that they were like a bottomless ocean. He somehow extended his right hand and picked the staff precisely.
The seven-floored Mountain Paradise appeared again, and Anasta was enshrouded in the holy light.
Hymns and praise also surrounded him, modifying the environment to be sacred and indestructible.
"A bliss?"
"The Lord has chosen a new pope?"
Since every pope had died of natural causes, there was always enough time for a new pope to be elected and approved by the Grand Cardinals. Therefore, the case where the God of Truth directly chose a pope through bliss, as recorded on the Cannon, had never happened again after the first pope.
Anasta's blackened skin faded away. He was rejuvenated, his vibe soaring unstoppably. Very soon, it was so overwhelming that even Douglas and other experts at the peak of legendary could not compare to him.
"Blessed Realm."
The holy light spread out, drowning all the Grand Cardinals and blocking the attacks of the legendary sorcerers including Douglas, Brook and Hathaway.
The Blessed Realm was shaking and bordering on being destroyed, but it still survived until all the Grand Cardinals stepped into the massive transmission magic circles. Douglas, Brook and other legendary sorcerers, seeing that a new pope had been born, dared not push too far, either.
Although it might take the new pope ten years before he grasped 'God's Arrival', he was an unquestionable demigod!
Witnessing everything, Mecantron became more gloomier than ever
Chapter 565: Aftermath
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
As the illusionary colors faded away, the new pope, the Angel King and the captain of the Temple Knights inside the massive transmission magic circles disappeared from Rentato.
After the transmission magic circles became dim, Hathaway's usual indifferent voice was mixed with certain complicated feelings as she muttered: "Elements Resolve."
Crack, crack, crack, crack. The massive transmission magic circles that had been seriously damaged under Eternal Blaze were disintegrated into elements, sinking or dispersing, never to be restored.
The facility that supported the South Church's reign was finally gone, marking that the South Church's influence has left the four countries of the straight and the north coastline.
"What a shame. If it weren't for the bliss…" Oliver felt regretful that the result could've been better.
Atlant was barely helpful because illusions and curses that he was good at were useless under 'Eternal Blaze'. However, he couldn't have looked more at ease. Closing his eyes, he smiled, "Oliver, greed is a flaw that other people will make use of. We have secured the control of this side of the Storm Strait without losing any of the seventeen legendary sorcerers, and our strength has been significantly increased after the six legendary knights join us. Are you still dissatisfied?"
His words were not ungrounded, because 'Master of Transformation' Erica, 'Monarch of Fate' Hull-Chulia, 'Lord of the Undead' Vicente, and 'Hammer of the Void' Bedrenka had all returned. 'Night Walker' had approached, too.
As a result, the legendary forces at the Congress' disposal amounted to twenty-three, outnumbering the Dark Congress which had nineteen legendary experts. Also, it was much more united than other forces. Even when it only had eighteen legends, it was considered to be an organization better than the Dark Congress, because vampires and werewolves hated each other's guts, and the ancient dragons were too proud to bother any species other than vampires.
In the meantime, the North Church only had fifteen legends, and only the pontiff was at the peak of legendary. It was weaker than the Congress of Magic, but there were another twelve legendary knights in the northern kingdoms and duchies. All in all, it was stronger than the Congress of Magic in the past, but because of their lack of experts at the peak of legendary, they were not as good as the Congress now.
Therefore, the Congress of Magic became the well-deserved second most powerful force.
Before Oliver replied, he saw 'Innovator' Davey return with a legion of Golems. He was a slim, sluggish 'young man' that was only enthusiastic when he saw the gadgets he created.
In a bitter smile, Davey said, "Stone escaped."
Then he added, "I was too shocked by the pope's demise. He ran before I came back to myself. Half of the Knights of Grail were controlled by me."
"The Knights of Grail will be transferred to Natasha as per our promise. She'll ask Richard to transform them into royal knights. If they refuse, then…" Douglas had little mercy for the enemy. He turned to the other side, "Oliver, you will hunt Stone with Davey. He may be too far away to be caught now, but you can still add to his pressure so that he doesn't sabotage everything on his way."
"Understood." Oliver was regretting that he did not kill a Grand Cardinal in person just now. Excited, he left with Davey.
The sky of Rentato became quiet, as if God's Arrival and Eternal Blaze just now were only illusions.
Douglas sighed in relief and broke the silence. "I estimated that we would lose one or two legends in the operation, but we have to thank Sard. If he hadn't consumed Benedict II's first God's Arrival, 'Silver Moon' and 'Abyss' would've waited for us to do so."
"Even though the Dark Congress might not succeed, the Church had lost Anthony, Augusta, Sard and Beaver. After Anasta became the new pope, it remains to be seen if the other three saint cardinals would return to the Holy City. The South Church has suffered heavy losses."
"I hereby announce that Project Mushroom Cloud has succeeded!"
The postwar silence was dispelled by Douglas' announcement. For the sorcerers, it meant that they were no longer worried about the night watchers and the enemy next to their headquarters.
Seeing that the atmosphere was enlivened, Douglas chuckled, "Hathaway, ask the sorcerers in the Holm branch to help Richard include them into the new church. Later, we can study the divine powers with the Holmish Church."
Hathaway nodded and reminded the sorcerers through ancient messaging methods, because the electromagnetic environment was still rather disordered.
Then, Douglas looked at Vicente, Holt, Erica, Atlant, Hellen and Hull-Chulia and said, "Fernando and I tolerated the Hand of Paleness, the Will of Elements, the Moonsong League, the Family of Sorcerers and Cabin of Palmeira within the Congress exactly because we hoped for today to come. Your infiltration in your respective countries was successful. I hope that you can defend your territory in the future and do not let the Church or other enemies get things their way."
"My only requirement is that the chair and the vice-chair of the branches must be appointed by the Highest Council."
Douglas proposed the requirement after the triumph while acknowledging the few organizations. Therefore, Vicente and other legendary sorcerers did not object. They were the members of the Highest Council themselves, too.
"Atlant and I will take turns to watch over the Duchy of Calais." Erica expressed her attitude first, followed by other legendary sorcerers. They divided different areas, like 'parishes' in the past.
At this moment, 'Night Walker' Winston received a message from the nobles. Knowing their choice, he said with a smile, "Holm is the safest place. I can foresee that my job will be easy."
In the new situation, the tradition that sorcerers could not enter the Nekso Palace was naturally abandoned. As a result, Hathaway and Davey could take care of the defense of the Nekso Palace while watching over the Will of Elements and the royal magic tower of Holm.
After the brief meeting, Hathaway and Winston reached the Parliament of Nobles, because certain things were still unresolved.
Sheathing the Sword of Truth, Natasha looked at Winston and said, "Mr. Winston, where is Mr. Kritonia?"
"He refused to cooperate with the Congress and escaped from Rentato." Admitted Winston honestly.
Duke Kritonia's face immediately became pale, but he also felt lucky that his ancestor at least did not die.
Natasha turned around and looked at the nobles. "Now, I request a trial on a murder case targeting Patrick, the former prince."
Most nobles looked at her, stunned, not knowing what happened. Duke James was rather worried. Was it finally coming? But Kritonia was still alive!
With the test reports in her hands, Natasha said, "This is the flesh from my uncle Patrick. According to the examination of his cells, the age of his death was at least two years older than his actual age. So, I have reason to believe that Prince Patrick was murdered by accelerated time!"
The murderer was obvious between her lines. Duke Kritonia shook his head in panic, "I don't know anything. I really don't."
Natasha looked at Duke Rex instead of him. "Three people witnessed everything in the Nekso Palace. One was Sard, one was Kritonia, and the last was you, Duke Rex. So, I propose that Duke Rex is to cooperate with the sorcerers and the clerics in their investigation."
With a bitter smile, Rex shook his head. "That's unnecessary. I admit that Kritonia did that under the late king's command. I was an eyewitness and the perjurer."
"What? My grandfather?" Natasha found it more or less unacceptable.
The other nobles looked the same.
Duke Rex smiled miserably, "The late king had always wanted to rejoin the embrace of the Saint Truth. The prince and him were…"
He did not go on but sighed, "As a noble, I've been suffering because I didn't do anything when my liege was murdered. I feel relieved after the confession. I will answer for my mistake with my death. Your Majesty, I hope that you lead Holm to prosperity."
Before the two legends could do anything, Duke Rex's eyes lost colors, and he collapsed on his seat.
Natasha slightly sighed. "Duke Rex's crime is not severe, and he has answered for it. So, the punishment for the Frenburg family is that their title will be lowered to count from duke. Is there any objection?"
Rex had already died, and the punishment was not severe. Therefore, both the liberals and the conservatives agreed with it and passed the proposition.
In the next, Natasha looked at Duke Kritonia and said, "There is enough evidence that proves Kritonia's involvement in the murder. Is there anything you want to say?"
Duke Kritonia swallowed and struggled to say, "He did it on his own. I knew nothing. Nobody in the family did."
The other nobles suddenly grew anxious, fearing that Kritonia would be on a rampage if the queen was too radical, in which case both she and her friends and subjects would be in great danger.
Natasha smiled, "According to the law, Kritonia will be hanged, all the titles of the Kritonia family will be removed, the fiefs and properties will be recalled, and the main family members will be imprisoned for ten years. What do you think?"
She did not propose an exile, because it would only make them reunite with Kritonia in the northland.
It was the fairest judgment that raised no objection. The only problem that was Kritonia, the culprit, hadn't been captured yet.
Natasha drew the Sword of Truth and declared: "I will execute Kritonia in person!"
It was a goal she set for herself in front of overwhelming strength.
She could've been more rigorous about the Kritonia family, but she understood that she had a father, a partner and a family. Also, as a knight, she did not believe in guilt by association.
At this moment, Richard walked in and said to Natasha, "Your Majesty, cardinals and bishops have been sent to other cities of the realm to gather the clerics. Here are a few bills that I want the parliament to pass. After all, the new church will be highly integrated with the nobles."
"Copy the files and show them to the nobles." Natasha nodded.
After receiving the files, the nobles browsed through them and discovered that they were entitled to a lot of religious rights. Therefore, they passed it without much hesitation. Duke Solefen, the new president of the parliament, announced it for them:
"… The queen, our sovereign lord, her heirs and successors, kings of this realm, shall be taken, accepted, and reputed the only supreme head on earth of the Church of Holm; and shall have and enjoy, annexed and united to the imperial crown of this realm, as well the title and style thereof, as all honors, dignities, prominences, jurisdictions, privileges, authorities, immunities, profits, and commodities to the said dignity of the supreme head of the same Church belonging and appertaining 1 !"
…
After everything was over, rarely-seen fatigue and sorrow appeared on Natasha's face. It was an unacceptably cruel thing that her grandfather ordered to kill her uncle.
As she walked out of the Parliament of Nobles, Natasha blinked her eyes when she saw the handsome man who was wearing a double-breasted suit. She walked to his front in a hurry and hugged him gently despite the surprised nobles behind her, dissolving her negative feelings with his warmth. Then, she joked in a low voice: "From today on, those who do slanderously and maliciously publish and pronounce that the queen should be heretic or question the legitimacy of her marriage will be guilty of high treason."
...
On the opposite side of the Stuart, in Stuart, where part of the low-rank clerics gathered, the intense stink of sulfur spread out.
A fuzzy shadow looked at Holm and shook its head. "This monster…"
Since the Angel King used his identity as his cover, he could also develop under the Angel King's name and give a warning to the guys of the Congress of Magic.
Chapter 566: Holy Name
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Inside 'Thunder Hell', in Fernando's secret chamber…
The amulet of life suddenly turned transparent and glowed, and a section of bloodstained intestines wriggled, split and grew.
It took an entire hour before the Lord of Storm became what he used to be like, and another two hours for him to return to the third level of legendary.
After putting on his usual blood-red magic robe and embedding a weird false eye to his left eye socket, Fernando finally turned on the node of 'Thunder Hell' that connected the outside world. It was not because he did not trust Douglas, Hathaway or Lucien, but because of the basic wariness of a legendary sorcerer who had lived a thousand years.
No more than half a minute after the node was opened, the transmission magic circles glowed, and Lucien arrived at 'Thunder Hell'.
"So soon?" Fernando laughed wickedly. "I thought that you were going to 'celebrate' with Natasha."
Even though Lucien had been quite used to his teacher's banter, his face was still red. "Prince Patrick was killed under the late king's order. Natasha was not in the best mood because of that. I comforted her for a while. Then, the King of Nightmare sent Grand Duke of Orvarit over. They hadn't seen each other for a while, and I was wondering how you were recovering. So I came here."
"What's to be worried about? I can fight another battle with the saints." Fernando revealed his stormy vibe again. Then he shook his head, "Such things are not strange in the royal families. That little girl should've seen it coming."
Seeing that Lucien was casual and could even comfort Natasha inside the Nekso Palace, he naturally knew that the brief war had been over with a satisfactory result. So, he was not in a hurry to ask.
Lucien, however, still looked at Fernando in worry. "Master, why do I feel that you are even more heavily wounded than the Holy Avenger was? You seem to be one step lower now, right?"
The moment Fernando revealed his vibe, Lucien sensed that something was not right.
"The wound on the soul somehow spread to the physical side, but it's only temporary. I'll recover in one to two years." Fernando suddenly grew angry, "While Melmax was stronger than me, I couldn't have been more heavily wounded than he was if I were in the complete state! I was only wounded because I didn't bring my legendary items, and my puppets, mirrors and such were used to deal with the five saints."
That was why he was confident to escape even when he was faced with the pope. After all, he had many legendary items and life-preserving legendary magics.
According to the demise of many legendary sorcerers, the Magic Empire concluded many things that could not be explained with current arcana theories. For example, the Sword of Truth could directly slay the soul, and the attack of pure energy might affect the pieces of soul inside the resurrection device after it destroyed the original soul. If the energy were even greater, and the sorcerer was not defended, they might even be completely obliterated.
The ancient sorcerers had named it 'causality damage', which was similar to part of the curses. As for what the fact was, nobody had figured it out yet.
The Highest Council's opinion regarding the center of Eternal Blaze's explosion was that the massive energy would disrupt the causality line. That was why they diminished the energy of the attack, fearing that Fernando would be killed along the way.
Lucien was not convinced by the explanation, but he couldn't think of any other reason yet. He was just an amateur in the studies of the soul.
"Yes, of course." Lucien knew his master to be a proud sorcerer who barely complimented other people. Naturally, he hurried to nod and change the subject, "Speaking of which, the Congress has really used all the stockpiles to trap the five saints. We may not be able to do the same thing again in the future."
The one-time items such as puppets and mirrors were essentially legendary scrolls. They were much rarer than alchemical items of the same level. Even the Congress of Magic, which was best known for their alchemy, had only three of them, which all belonged to the legendary sorcerers. The puppets were from Douglas, and the mirrors were Fernando's collection.
"To keep the losses minimal, other than thorough planning, the most important thing is that you must not be petty about items and scrolls. If you don't want to pay the money, you have to pay your life!" Fernando appeared rather resolute, but the storm in his eyes betrayed him. "If I didn't have the mirror and the puppets, I would've brought the Robe of Dominance and sacrificed it to stall the five stains, but then, the Congress would have to compensate for my loss with a legendary item."
Basically, only legendary experts had legendary items, but the Congress had organized many operations to explore the demiplanes of the ancient sorcerers, excavating the items of the legendary sorcerers who died in accidents.
The legendary items and those crafted with the rare materials from the relics belonged to the Congress. Whoever made special contributions or gathered enough wealth could trade for them. The members of the Highest Council could also borrow one of them when they were out on an adventure.
There were four such public legendary items, which were too expensive even for the legendary sorcerers. As for special contributions, only two kinds were acknowledged. One was the sacrifice that Fernando described, and the other was a paradigm-shifting theoretical system. That was how Fernando earned his Robe of Dominance.
A hundred years ago, when a new grand arcanists emerged at the same time, the Congress almost ran out of legendary items. As more and more rare materials were obtained from the alternate dimensions, the Innovator and the Alchemy Master each created one to make up for the gap.
Lucien had a deep understanding about the use of money again. While the Church was much wealthier than the Congress, things were the contrary in the field of alchemy.
Fernando asked about the result of the battle. "How many of the five saints died? What's the final result?"
Lucien briefly described the result. Fernando listened and snorted, "Had it not been for Melmax, the four saints would've all died."
After Lucien finished, Fernando slightly frowned and said, "We didn't lose any of the legends, which was great, but it was quite weird that the new pope arrived at the level of demigod all of the sudden. If the pope did receive the favor of the God of Truth, why didn't he kill all the sorcerers on the spot? Since he already bequeathed a bliss, it shouldn't have been difficult to launch a punishment."
In the past, the popes all died of natural causes, and they had plenty of time to select and train their heirs. Even so, it would take the new pope's one year before they could become demigods.
"Huh, if the pope is really the spokesperson of the God of Truth on earth who can receive the bliss, what about the North Church and the Holmish Church? Why can they also perform divine powers? Why can the pontiff use 'God's Grace'?" Lucien also expressed his questions.
Thoughtfully, Fernando said, "I just realized that something was wrong. Since the new popes would only be at the peak of legendary in one year after their inauguration, why did the three demigods never try to seize the opportunity in the past hundreds of years? The defense of the Holy City could resist one demigod but certainly not two."
Lucien shook his head. If they asked the Silver Moon such a question, there was definitely not going to be any answer.
...
In the Bright Hall in Lance, the Holy City…
Anasta, who hadn't been officially inaugurated, stood before the remaining Grand Cardinals and said grievously, "The Congress of Magic conspired with abyssal devils and attempted to destroy the world. Thankfully, His Holiness sacrificed himself and crushed the Will of Abyss, saving the pure spirits. I will carry on his last will and eliminate the evils completely!"
That was their official statement on the event. Now that the four countries of the straight and the north coastline had been lost, they had to ensure that their base was steady, and nothing could please the believers more than a pope who sacrificed himself to save the world.
Looking around him, Melmax felt sorrowful. Of the eight saints, two had perished, one had betrayed and died, and one had become the pope. Only half of them were left. As for the regular saint cardinals, one had perished and three went missing, meaning that there were only sixteen Grand Cardinals left now. Thankfully, the Angel King prepared to stay on earth for now to help the Church survive the difficulties.
"We will certainly carry on His Holiness' last will and eliminate the evils!" The Grand Cardinals drew crosses on their chest and replied at the same time in grief, "Only Truth lives forever."
Anasta's voice became slow and solemn, "We have suffered tremendous losses, but we must not lose confidence because of that. This is a test of the Lord, and we will accomplish the final victory with the grace of the Lord. Melmax, you will go find Torrens and other saint cardinals and tell them that, as long as they would like to repent, the Lord will pardon them. They were only on the wrong path because of Sard's trick, and they can still return to the Lord. This is the Lord's grace."
Now that he had invoked Lord's grace in front of the Grand Cardinals, it meant that Torrens and other saint cardinals had truly been pardoned. Even if he intended to go back on his words, he had to consider whether or not it would chill all of the Grand Cardinals. Also, Sard's last trump card was 'Will of Abyss'. Those three saint cardinals couldn't have known much about that.
In appreciation, Melmax said in a low voice, "As the Lord wishes and your command."
Only by uniting the majority could the Church recover from the hit.
"I am still not the pope yet." Anasta smiled and walked to the stairs.
There were only seven stairs in total. When Anasta stepped onto the first stair, the hallowed and unpredictable hymns echoed.
When he stepped on the second stair, the vague holy light sprayed down, making the Bright Hall even brighter.
After his third step, countless angels made of light spots appeared and surrounded Anasta.
After his fourth step, the whole Holy City of Lance was enshrouded in holy light. All the clerics and believers kneeled on the ground and prayed: "…Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
After his fifth step, the projection of Mountain Paradise seemed to have appeared in the sky.
After his sixth step, a beam of sacred light illuminated Anasta directly.
After his seventh step, Anasta, whose back was towards everybody, had an extremely pale face, and his left hand was shivering beyond his control as if he were too old and weary, but everything was soon back to normal. He turned around and raised his staff high towards the many Grand Cardinals.
At this moment, a grave and sacred voice descended from somewhere high and unknown:
"You will be given the holy name 'Benedict'!"
Anasta drew a cross respectfully and spoke with a voice echoing inside the entire Holy City:
"Henceforth, I will be Benedict III!"
Chapter 567: Benedict III's Target
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Of the Grand Cardinals on the ground inside the Bright Hall, besides the legends such as saint cardinals and divine knights, there were also about ten level-nine clerics. They were also Grand Cardinals, and they were talents that the pope and the legendary experts had the highest hope in. They were either leading a small parish or managing different affairs in the Holy City, like the six ninth-circle archmages in the Highest Council of the Congress of Magic.
After Anasta solemnly announced that he was Benedict III, Philip, a level-nine bishop, felt that his mind was clear and forgot there were any other things in the world, when he heard the beautiful hymns and touched the peaceful light. While feeling moved, he felt that a light illuminated in his heart. Then, the light gradually expanded into a projection of a seven-floored Mountain Paradise.
The shadow of a six-winged angel flew out into Philip's heart of belief, subliming his soul.
Inside the Bright Hall, Philip was surrounded by a layer of flowing, incessant ivory light. His vibe soared exponentially, turning the environment clean and holy.
Witnessing it, Benedict III put on a sincere smile. "This is the Lord's grace. We now have one more brother and one more companion to purge evil!"
Melmax understood that Philip had finally 'seen' the projection of Melmax in his mind when the voice of the Lord arrived, and that he had advanced into a saint cardinal.
Inside the holy light, Philip's soul became clear from inside to outside. He raised his head, his eyes pure and delighted, and he drew a cross on his chest. "Only Truth lives forever."
"Welcome, fellow. Let's work harder to make the Lord's kingdom on earth as it is in heaven." Saint Melmax, Saint Maria, Auden and other Grand Cardinals all congratulated him.
Benedict III's had much more grey hair than a moment ago. He said peacefully and firmly, "The Lord's grace has never diminished. We will survive any crisis eventually."
"Melmax, your mission to search for Torrens is now transferred to Auden, and you will lead one Grand Cardinal and part of the ascetics to Aalto to reinforce Philibell and Beliel. Danisos has been disobedient. Maria, you will go to the north with two Grand Cardinals, in case the heretics invades the south. Kati, you will bring two Grand Cardinals to Stuart and reorganize the defense in the Storm Strait with the assistance of the legendary knights." Kati was another female saint.
Because there was no need to defend the four countries of the strait and the north coastline, and they had the assistance of the legendary knights, the Church still had enough hands and did not have to abandon too much territory in the alternate dimensions.
Melmax agreed with the plan. Although the legendary experts of the Church would be focused in the Duchy of Orvarit, the Holy Heilz Empire, Stuart and a few important alternate dimensions, making the Holy City of Lance and the central area undefended, there was still His Holiness, the Angel King and the newly-advanced Philip. Nobody could attack the city abruptly.
After the situation was settled, they would be able to restore the previous practice. Only one or two legendary Grand Cardinals would be left in those places for defense with local legendary knights. The rest of them would be focused in Lance for timely reinforcement and attacks.
Thinking for a moment, Melmax asked, "Your Holiness, Grand Duke of Orvarit is gone. How are we going to deal with the Violet family?"
Benedict III shook his head. "It's Natasha's personal action. Punishing the Grand Duke of Orvarit is fine, but striking the entire Violet family might anger the nobles and worsen the situation. So, you and Milton will choose someone from the Violet family to succeed the title."
"As you wish." Melmax did not object. He, too, did not want the family known as 'Shield of Truth' to abandon the South Church like the family of 'Sword of Truth', which would panic everybody.
As Benedict III sent out orders and the Grand Cardinals were dispatched to local places, the dangerous situation after the South Church lost the territory on the side of the Storm Strait, four legends, three saint cardinals and six legendary knights were gradually stabilized, and the Dark Congress missed the chance to bite the Church hard due to their internal strife yet again.
With Philibell, Milton and Beliel defending the place with the northern fortress and the divine power circles of Aalto, Danisos could not secure a victory on his own even though he was at the peak of legendary. There were also conflicts within dragons, and many of them were sleeping. Dracula, on the other hand, was too busy hunting a werewolf prince to bother the Dark Congress.
After Ines returned to Lance and Torrens, 'Angel of Wisdom', joined the North Church, the Congress of Magic's 'Mushroom Cloud' seemed to have died out. With one demigod, two top legends (the Angel King and Melmax', three level-three saints, fifteen legends and thirteen legendary knights in other countries, the South Church remained the strongest force, but it's gap between the North Church and the Congress of Magic had significantly been narrowed.
...
After he returned to the late pope's library, Benedict III waved his hands, hinting for the few cardinals to leave. He sat on the chair and looked at the new picture: "Benedict II, 602-824."
Suddenly, his face became pale again, and both of his hands were trembling beyond his control. His vibe dropped and rose many times before it was finally stable, but his hair seemed even greyer and his eyes even dirtier.
"'Bliss' is truly hard to bear…" He heaved a sigh.
After he recovered, he looked at the room where Mecantron, the Angel King, was at, as if he could see him through all the divine power circles and walls.
Mecantron, who was as gorgeous as a female, stood next to the window. His long gold hair had dimmed a lot.
He suffered heavy wounds from Eternal Blaze and the recoil of 'Paradise on Earth'. He coughed every now and then, vomiting gold blood that was as intense as clusters of energy.
However, such wounds were not fatal at all for the Angle King. He was recovering at a visible speed.
Benedict III moved his eyes back and put on an uncanny smile.
Then, he stood up and walked to the cabinet of important files. Finding the column that was named 'Douglas', he drew many files from it and read them again: "The target does not seem to reject my speech…" "He often feels lost…" "He is perhaps vacillating…"
"—By Artil."
Reading those files, Benedict III took out the report of 'latest arcana theories' from the column of 'Congress of Magic', trying to understand the description on the special theory of relativity in it. He said in a low voice:
"Although Artil is not around to influence him, it is evident that his motion system has encountered great problems. Perhaps, he is even more lost right now. I should find a chance to talk to him…"
...
In Antiffler in the Holy Heilz Empire…
Inside the royal palace, Rudolf II suddenly raised his head in his room of prayers. Eighteen pairs of dreamy wings were unfolded behind him, as he said in both confusion and delight, "Is he wounded?"
Recalling the feeling, Rudolf II closed his eyes, turning unpredictable and hallowed.
...
In the frozen World of Souls that did not have any sound or additional color, Rhine's red coat was rather eye-catching.
Walking in the disordered shadow of Rentato, he said to himself solemnly, "Where did the thing inside Sard's body run to?"
...
After he left 'Thunder Hell', Lucien returned to the Atom Institution, only to discover that Lazar, Annick and his other students were both scared and happy.
"Master, why did we suddenly declare war on the Church?" Allyn had been spinning like a ball under the energy storm of 'Eternal Blaze' after losing most of the momentum, which was a more terrible experience for Heidi than when she passed the Storm Strait on a boat. Her face was pale because of vomiting, and her voice was weak.
Lucien smiled, "Such a thing certainly needs to be kept confidential. There are a lot of spies in the Congress."
Their families had been moved to Allyn, so the students were all overjoyed after they were back to themselves, announcing that they could finally travel in Rentato and other places. As Lucien's students, they did not even dare to leave Allyn before they reached the third circle.
Then, Heidi, Katrina and other students asked about the legendary battle just now, and Lucien told them the things he knew frankly.
"Master, did you kill many level-nine clerics? Were there Grand Cardinals?" Katrina was rather confident in her teacher, who had escaped from the Demigod-lich when he was only in the sixth circle!
Lucien shook his head. "How could I join a legendary battle? I only helped Nekso Palace in the Nekso Palace."
Because he was too weak, he barely contributed to the plan of operation, except that he informed the Highest Council that Nekso Palace could directly contact the pope. Therefore, those old foxes soon drafted a Plan C.
Natasha's speech that she used to convince the nobles, on the other hand, was written by him. On the premises that she reserved the veto right and the levy right on the nobles' dominions, she actually did not compromise as much as it seemed.
"Master, you will become a legend soon enough." Chelly, having received Lucien's help, adulated him in a joyful mood.
Lucien did not say anything else. There were many things that needed to be addressed. Therefore, he surpassed them and entered his own office.
"Layria, did you see the additional iron ring on master's left hand? Hehe, perhaps he won't be single any longer any soon." Heidi observed keenly and remarked.
Then, Layria also realized it. "'Element', the Holmish crown ring on master's right hand, is also gone. Great men are always picked first. How I envy her."
The ladies were immediately refreshed. In the spirit of gossip, they chattered nonstop.
...
Inside the Land of Truth, Douglas received a report from the tower guard, who stated that Francois, a member of the Affair Committee and a ninth-circle archmage, had come to visit him.
Francois was an ancient sorcerer who followed Douglas to establish the Congress of Magic at the beginning. They had been close to each other. Therefore, Douglas asked the tower guard to let him in after examining him.
Chapter 568: Stars Above
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
In the small living room of the Land of Truth, Douglas met Francois.
Because he failed to advanced into legendary, many magic rituals that could extend the longevity by more than five hundred years were not usable for him. He was rather old, his hair sparse and grey. His skin was full of wrinkles, with spots here and there. But his blue eyes were as deep as an ocean, as if they accommodated the wisdom that had sunk in the passage of time.
"Francois, what brings you here? Are you ready for the lich transformation ritual?" Asked Douglas casually. As a member of the Affair Committee, the man should be occupied in such a moment.
Francois shook his head in a smile, "To be a lich, I will have to abandon the enjoyments and entertainments as a man. I may even become extreme and crazy because of negative energy. It really isn't the best choice. I haven't made up my mind yet. I'm still waiting to see if my cognitive world can be half solidified."
"That's a great idea. Arcana and magic have been developing at a terrifying speed over the past ten years. Perhaps, new theories or achievements that are suitable for you will be proposed soon, allowing you to solidify your cognitive world after years of accumulation." Douglas nodded, approving Francois' decision.
In his mind, the crazy development of arcana began with Felipe's studies on cell memories and Lucien's submission of the periodic table. He seemed to have foreseen two new legendary sorcerers. Therefore, when Vicente tried to get Felipe away from the Demigod-lich's incident, he agreed with it and let it pass.
Francois smiled. "Mr. President, it's true that new theories or achievements that can break my bottleneck will arise soon, but they are also very likely to break my head, especially if they are from Lucien Evans, the Headcrusher."
Douglas shook his head with a smile, knowing that Lucien was already 'notorious' among the sorcerers. "The advancement he brought forth hasn't been fully revealed. Perhaps, you will see the value of his new theories in three, five or ten years."
Francois said in a smile, "Like 'On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies and Mass-energy Equation'?"
Douglas smile was gradually gone. He said at a loss, "Yes."
Francois continued, "When I saw the paper, I felt that my confidence was destroyed. It was not because I was shocked at Lucien Evans' talents, but because I was suspicious about myself and the arcana system in the past hundreds of years."
"Mr. Douglas, I've been following you since the end of the War of Dawn. We established the Congress under the suppression of the Church. Your gravity theory and your motion system were the lighthouses that guided me. But right now, one of the two lighthouses has been announced 'wrong'. I really don't know what to believe now. I'm like a boat in a storm, with nothing but darkness before my eyes."
Douglas lowered his voice. "It's not wrong but a low-speed approximation of the relativistic system."
The atmosphere became weird, filled with indescribably silence and depression.
Francois looked at Douglas earnestly, "Mr. President, low-speed approximation means that you neglected too many things in your motion system, and there were too many errors. Also, don't you think that 'time is space, and space is time', 'time depends on matter and is speed's function' completely overthrow our understanding?"
"It is indeed different from our intuition. When I saw it, I also felt that my past thousand years were denied." Douglas admitted rather honestly.
Honesty had always been his attitude towards arcana problems.
Francois said with a heavy mind. "Perhaps it was because our studies were too superficial and too far away from the truth. Perhaps, when we really approach the 'truth', we may discover that it is the opposite of what we believe it."
"That's true. The more I study arcana, the more ignorant I realize I am, on time, space, mass and energy or even regarding gravity that I'm best at." Douglas revealed confusion again.
Francois heaved a sigh. "The truth of this world is beyond our imagination. Too many questions can't be answered, and more and more things point at the same thing. What's the nature of gravity? How did it appear in the beginning? If your astronomical motion system works, what's the initial force that made the planets spin?"
"That's exactly what I'm confused about. Where's gravity from? How does it spread? How was it created at the beginning? The more I know, the more lost and scared I am. Perhaps I've been wrong all this time." Douglas' voice was unpredictable.
Francois' blue eyes turned deep. "Perhaps, we should look for a philosophical explanation. Perhaps, there was indeed a First Cause and a source that created everything. In that case, the system of celestial body motion can be perfected and constructed."
Douglas did not hide it from his old friend. He said depressed, "Sometimes, I can't help but think that way. There's probably really a supreme being and a First Cause, or the whole arcana system cannot be explained from the origin. It's like a house without the foundation, which will collapse under the gentlest breeze."
The atmosphere was even more weird. Light flashed in Francois' eyes as he spoke, "That is to say, your gravity system and your motion system will collapse without the First Cause, right?"
"Yes." Douglas added, "At least so far, but there may be other arcana explanations in the future."
Francois said in a low voice, "Then, what's the origin of this world? Who am I? Where are we from? Where are we going to? Can you find the answers from arcana studies?"
"Not for now. They are still in the category of philosophy." Douglas shook his head.
Francois also shook his head. "No, they are in the category of theology. As long as you admit that there is a supreme being and a First Cause, all the questions can be answered."
Douglas opened his mouth and was about to say something, when his pupils constricted. "Who are you? You are not Francois!"
Something emerged inside Francois' body, making him sacred and peaceful. "You may call me Benedict III."
"Pope… Why are you here? Where is Francois?" Douglas was not too panicked. In his own demiplane and his own magic tower, he was confident to fight the pope, the Silver Moon, or the Lord of Hell even if they came in person – on the premise that they did not have God's Arrival. Therefore, he was not scared of the pope who had been projected into Francois' body in a strange way.
The mysterious magic circles were activated, turning the Land of Truth outside into dark night with stars in the high sky.
Benedict III showed little reaction. He merely smiled, "Francois willingly let me project. Otherwise, it is impossible for me to be projected into an archmage's body."
"So, he has been working for the Church. No wonder there were so many leaks. I had always thought that there were spies in the Affair Committee, but I didn't know it was him." Douglas felt sad when he was faced with the spy who was of the highest level. The old friend who established the Congress of Magic with me had betrayed his dream and joined his nemesis in the end?
He also felt lucky that Project Mushroom Cloud was only known by a few trusted members of the Affair Committee, and that Francois was not among them.
Benedict III said peacefully, "Francois recognized arcana's fundamental problem, so he returned to the arms of the Lord. Douglas, don't deny it. You are already starting to believe in the First Cause and the supreme being."
"Yes, I can't deny that I'm more or less convinced by the First Cause and the supreme being." Douglas replied expressionlessly.
In delight, Benedict III said, "Very good. If you are willing to be baptized, you will be the First Saint of the Church and the pope later. You will know the secrets of demigods and receive eternal happiness."
Douglas suddenly chuckled. "Just because I believe that doesn't mean that I will worship the God of Truth."
"What? Are you not clear about the power of 'God's Arrival'? Did you not see the projection of Mountain Paradise? If you are willing to join the Church, I can reveal part of demigod secrets to you right now." Benedict III was somewhat surprised.
Douglas pointed at the starry sky outside the window. "Benedict III, you probably have never explored space like we sorcerers have, right?"
"So what?" Benedict III did not understand why Douglas said that.
With extreme zealotry and fascination, Douglas stared at the sky. "Only after you've been there will you know how boundless space is, and how insignificant you, I, the Silver Moon, the Lord of Hell and the entire world are compared to it."
"Even if I believe in the First Cause, I don't believe that such a great being will fight for territory with us and vampires in such a small world."
"My god perhaps will accept our prayer and pacify our heart, but the 'God of Truth', who launches divine power and graces directly and who encourages the Church to compete for resources and territory in this world, is nothing at all compared to the awe-inspiring, infinite space."
Then, Douglas turned back around and looked at Benedict III.
"So, do you think that he deserves my belief?"
At this moment, the man who built the Congress of Magic from scratch fully revealed his confidence and pride.
Benedict III looked awful. Douglas was indeed lost, but he was lost in a different way.
"I want to know the secrets of the demigods, but I despise your methodology." Douglas said with a peaceful smile. "One day, you will realize that sorcerers are not the enemies of faith; it's just that our eyes are not as limited to this narrow place as yours."
"The future of sorcerers lies in the boundless space, somewhere close to the 'truth'!"
Benedict III sighed, "To be a demigod is harder than you think. Sometimes, vastness does not mean the truth; beings of higher levels and forms are. Now that you've refused my offer, I'll take my leave."
"Let Francois go with you. He contributed to the establishment of the Congress of Magic. I do not want to punish him for his doing, but he must leave the Congress." Douglas also sighed. Benedict III was obviously only a projection. Killing Francois wouldn't hurt him at all. In the meantime, he intended to ask Hellen, who guarded Allyn, to watch over Francois in case he sabotaged anything.
Without further ado, Benedict III left the magic tower.
When he stepped into the transmission magic circles, Francois' body suddenly melted into blood stained with holy light. Then, drawing weird symbols, the blood shut down all the space nodes, as if Douglas had turned off the demiplane on his own.
Douglas frowned and tried to open it again, only to discover that it would take him at least two days. He was more or less surprised. "Is this a demigod spell? My demiplane can be temporarily blocked by sacrificing one projection and one ninth-circle archmage?"
He felt rather lucky again. If they had waited for the Church to attack them, such a method that could cage the top legendary sorcerers in their demiplanes could be very fatal. It meant that they would be divided and conquered. The Congress was far weaker than the Church in the first place. They would be wiped out for sure if they got even more divided.
"Thankfully, we launched the attack in advance and took the initiative. However, what is Benedict III trying to do?" Douglas did not think that he would start a war at such a moment, unless he intended to join the Congress with the contribution of annihilating the Church. Therefore, Douglas was not very anxious, albeit a bit puzzled.
"Although the previous spell was mixed with holy light, it was more like some of the unique, peculiar magics of the ancient sorcerers. It seems that the Church reaped a lot of classics when the Magic Empire was destroyed."