Sylvester's words took King Conrad by surprise. He looked at him in confusion and feared for his life like never before. "You… For how long have you been planning this?"
"From the day you revealed your plot to use me to kill your sister. I don't take kindly to those who try to stab me in the back, especially not if they're Kings or lords." Sylvester replied and got closer to Conrad, grabbing him by the neck. The man may be an Archwizard, but he was nothing compared to Sylvester now.
"Step away from my brother!" Conrad's younger brother, Rainer, came forward to plead. "He did what all monarchs do. That's how one rules their kingdom."
Sylvester gestured toward King Highland, standing near the wall. "Look at him. Do you see him rebelling against me? Instead, he stands by my side and serves the faith better than any of you. I made Conrad the King, cleared all the paths for him, brokered peace between you and Kaecilius, and yet you dared betray me—even after learning that I was alive? Indeed, monarchs rule by scheming and backstabbing, but you forgot that you reap what you sow. For one treachery, you receive the same in return."
"Nobody will accept this. The lords and ladies will revolt against you." King Conrad argued. "They support me because I fill their vaults."
Sylvester shrugged. "Then they are heathens to have supported you. Article Sixty-Six shall apply to all of them. Their bloodlines will be erased, and their wealth seized. Do you think you, a single Kingdom, can oppose the entire Sol?"
No, they could not, and every single man there knew it.
"But I won't kill you and your brother… yet" Sylvester lifted Conrad off the floor and brought him over the edge of the city wall. "King Highland, catch!"
Woosh!
Like a ragdoll, Sylvester threw Conrad down right into Highland's grasp. It wasn't a soft landing, nor did they care. Then Sylvester scooped up Rainer the same way and threw him off the wall.
With the two brothers of the Riveria family gone, only the Grand Wizards remained. One of them was a level seven Grand Wizard, and the other was a level one Grand Wizard.
"Lord Ritviz, you're level one, and I can spare your life if you agree to form a Blood Contract with me. Refuse, and I'll grant you a dignified death." Sylvester offered the man.
"How can this…" Ritviz gestured at Karlson, who held a blade to his neck. "...be dignified?"
Sylvester pointed his spear at them. "We will battle, and I'll kill you with my spear."
Ritviz looked at his elder brother, Noland, and made a decision. "You want me to see my bloodline die before me and remain a slave to you? Never able to make a new family, and serve unquestionably? Forgive me, Lord Bard, I will choose death over such fate."
"And I respect that." Sylvester agreed and looked at Noland. "You can join your brother and attack me at the same time. But we battle outside the city, for I bear no animosity towards the innocent people."
It was how things were supposed to be. Most Grand Wizards were old men with more than a century of life behind them. With age, almost all minds learn to become mature, wise, and patient. The Grand Wizards were expected to possess eloquence and reason, with a sense of pride.
So Sylvester tried to do the same. But more than anything, he wished to use the battle as a show of might to all of Riveria, King Highland, and his armies. Once they witnessed him win, word would spread much quicker and genuinely.
"We agree." Noland agreed as he was released from Timothy's hold and walked forward. "Lead the way."
Sylvester nodded and jumped down from the wall. Close behind him, Ritviz and Noland followed. They all went a distance away, enough to keep the city safe, but at the same, they remained visible to the people.
Soon, they stood facing each other. Sylvester held his spear firmly, while the other two men were pure wizards and didn't have any physical weapons with them. As far as Sylvester knew, one of them was a master in water magic and the other in earth magic.
However, the two Grand Wizards clearly didn't underestimate Sylvester. They looked serious and even smelled the same. It was a real death match, so they had to give it their all.
"Start whenever you want to," Sylvester said.
The two Grand Wizards nodded and walked to each side of Sylvester in order to attack him at the same time and stop him from reacting or focusing on just one of them.
"May the best of us win." Sylvester prepared himself.
Boom!
The two Riveria Grand Wizards seemed to have great experience working together, made clear with their first move. Ritviz kicked the ground and made a wall all around them, spanning hundreds of meters in all directions and more than ten meters high.
Woosh!
Then the older and more powerful Noland took a long breath and began spewing an immense amount of water from his mouth and both palms. It came with such intensity that in a matter of a few seconds, Ritviz's enclosure was filled up with water.
Sylvester simply made Light Tiles to walk upward and stand on the surface of the water. He remained ready for any surprise attack simultaneously, but he wasn't afraid, as his affinity allowed him to manipulate everything but darkness.
Clap!
Ritviz, who had made himself a platform on water, clapped his hands and did something. At the same time, Noland walked on the water without doing anything weird, but there was something happening for sure.
"Haha…" Sylvester suddenly chuckled and jumped into the air. The moment he left the surface, hundreds of razor-sharp spikes made of ice and earth came up.
Boom!
"You can't win against the two of us." Noland showed a hint of confidence and began to surf the water waves, getting closer to Sylvester. "We control the basic elements that are everywhere around us."
Sylvester smiled. "And I control what surrounds us all!"
Responding to the battle, Sylvester remained a few meters above the water surface and raised his right palm. A huge, sharp disk of golden shining light formed over his palm, steadily expanding with each passing moment.
Soon, its radius reached one meter.
Woosh!
Sylvester threw the disk toward Ritviz with remarkable speed. The strange disk of light left a long wave in the water as it aimed toward the man on the platform. It flew fast enough to create a horrifying hum, and at the same time, it was hot enough to make a tail of mist in its wake.
Shhh…!
Ritviz had little time to dodge. Without a second thought, he jumped and dived into the water, letting the disk of light fly past him.
"And you." Sylvester turned to Noland, who was close enough to him. The Grand Wizard had giant dragons made of water circling him, keeping him safe from any long-range attack.
Pa!
As if a cannon shot roared, Noland sent frozen, spiky balls of ice toward Sylvester. Each of them came out of the water dragons, and there were dozens of them.
Crack!
Sylvester didn't even move and used his spear to stab the oncoming ice balls and shattered them into pieces. He had a physical advantage against both Grand Wizards. Because, unlike a regular Wizard, he didn't need to use magic to defend himself on every occasion.
Finally, Sylvester decided to get serious, as he felt the two Grand Wizards were taking it slow and easy.
"I can do that too!" Sylvester roared and dashed toward Noland. As he stepped forward, the water under his feet began to rise, and in no time, a similar water dragon appeared behind him, but it was much bigger and more detailed, revealing Sylvester's control over the element.
Noland sent out his water dragons to collide with Sylvester's.
BOOM!
In the blink of an eye, the two sides collided, and rain poured down. However, before Noland could conjure some other magical move, Sylvester had already moved past him and stood behind him.
"Noland, isn't your brother taking too long in the water?" Sylvester pointed out with a grim smile on his face.
Panicked, Noland looked left and right. Ritviz was nowhere to be found. However, he eventually noticed a vivid red spot on the water's surface, and his heart sank.
"No!"
"It was naive of you to think that I couldn't control a simple disk made of light to turn around and attack," Sylvester said, gradually closing in on Noland. "It's not that you're not strong or that you're not fast—I'm sure you could have defeated most of the Grand Wizards of the Holy Land."
Bzzzzz…!
Abruptly, the same disk of light Sylvester had made earlier came out of the water, but this time on its surface was the severed head of Ritviz, slowly burning, melting away the flesh. As the disk came closer toward Noland, Sylvester also closed in.
"I won't go down so eas—" Noland's words were caught in his throat.
"Can't move?" Sylvester said. "Magnetism and metal manipulation is one frightening magic."
Noland's heart sank, and he realized he was doomed to death before the battle even started. "H-How are you so strong? Your level is lower than mine."
"Because our magic is different," Sylvester answered. "I reached the holy temple in the middle of Divine Desert and got that rumored blessing."
"Haha." Noland suddenly laughed. "Then, I'm afraid no one can stand against you, Your Holiness—Congratulations on being the new Pope."
'Respectable.' Sylvester felt for the man who had accepted his death.
"Any last wish?" Sylvester asked.
Noland looked toward the city. "Don't let it fall apart… Riveria is more than just a kingdom ruled by a naive King."
Sylvester nodded and softly moved his finger, making the hovering disk of light move back a little to gain speed and strike Noland.
"Noland Riveria, you lost not because you're weak—You lost because you're fighting me. May the Holy Light enlighten you—in the Lord's embrace, may you find a better view." Sylvester, at last, snapped his finger.
Woosh!
At a blazing speed, the disk flew straight through Noland's neck. It took a few seconds for the blood to come out and the head to fall.
By then, Sylvester raised his palm and created a ball of fire so hot that it flickered like the sun itself, making all the distant watchers close their eyes.
Shhh…!
Sylvester threw the ball of fire into the water, and in an instant, the entire mass vaporized.
Boom!
A gigantic explosion formed from the vaporization, so loud and vast that the entire ground quaked, the city felt a massive earthquake, and the Snake River churned violently. The sound and shockwaves swept the city wall, throwing the soldiers to the ground or even hurled from the wall back into the city.
Eventually, the big cloud of steam disappeared and revealed the effects of the battle to all.
Sylvester remained standing alone, the bright halo shining radiantly behind his head. The metallic angel wings extended wide on his back, and the spear in his right hand stood firmly—all around him was a gigantic crater, so massive that it could soon be called a lake.
"So quick a kingdom fell. What I used to see as unimaginable, now feels too easy. Is this the frightening feeling that corrupts the mind of the powerful? This feeling—this power to decide the fates of even Grand Wizards with ease… and soon, with my Elder Magic, not even top-level Supreme Wizards will be my match. I have to keep this in check, I can't lose my humility." Sylvester looked toward the sky and clenched his free hand.
"Maxy? Why is your heart going boom boom again? Are you okay?" Miraj suddenly asked as he landed on Sylvester's shoulder. He had remained in the sky during the battle as Sylvester worried for his safety.
Sylvester smiled and patted the furry head. "Chonky, after this, let's go and see Mum and Sir Dolorem. It's been six years."
"Yes! Big Mum and Dol Dol, let's get them presents too."
'Others may envy me or fear me, but at least I know two people who will always see me as I was twenty years ago.'
"Let's do that… but a few more heads need to fall first." Sylvester began walking back toward the city.
"Yes!" Miraj chirped in agreement, too excited to meet Xavia. "Chop Chop—more heads to drop!"
"..."
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