Sylvester had thought a lot about the Demon in the Divider Swamp. As a Grand Wizard, he knew he couldn't challenge it alone, nor did he have any Supreme Wizard experts at his disposal. If he wanted to deal with it, he was going to need the help of the supreme overlords of the Beastaria, from the dragons, dwarves, Beastkins, giants, vampires, and elves. However, with his current status, the best he could hope for was to rally his father's support or, in the best-case scenario, a possible Supreme Wizard from the Beastkins, if there was any.
Hence, the thought of the Demon being a blessing rather than a bane rose in his mind. Currently, he didn't really need to do anything but pass the information on how powerful the foe was to everyone. Indeed, it was a risk, but it was better than throwing himself into a new mess while the existing ones remained unresolved.
'I should prepare Sol as well. Once I become the Pope, I'll have to move quickly.' Sylvester planned and, without opening his eyes, tried to communicate with someone across the sea. It was Gabriel this time since he greatly trusted the man.
"Busy or lazing around?" Sylvester's voice rang out.
"W-What? Who's there?!" Gabriel's shocked voice replied. "S-Sylvester? Did you die? Did you return as a ghost?"
'He forgot I can talk to him through the mind?' Sylvester realized, and an evil smirk was unleashed on his face.
"Gab, I lost… I lost against a Supreme Wizard-tiered Demon… But my soul can't pass away until you confess all the wrongdoings you committed against me…"
Gabriel stammered heavily. "W-What?! H-How can th-this be… You-u can't die… And what wrongdoings? I… I only stole a honey cookie jar once… that's i-it."
"..."
'It was this bastard?' Sylvester recalled the event from years ago when they were new Sanctum Inspectors. One of his emergency cookie jars had gone missing, and even Miraj had cried for it.
"How could you… We were brothers… Now my soul is stuck because of you~" Sylvester made ghostly wailing sounds. "Woooo…"
"Come on… J-Just for cookies? I took them for my sister because she loved cookies from Mother Xavia but was always too shy to ask for them," Gabriel confessed and clarified.
"Ah, it's fine then. She's like a sister to me as well, after all." Sylvester said in a normal tone. "I'm speaking with you through my mind. I'm alive and with a surprise."
"A ghost for a cookie?" Gabriel talked back, his tone slightly mocking. "Only a kid would be fooled by that. I knew it was you. I was just a little shocked. But my confession was real, and I ate some of those cookies too. They were tasty. What are you gonna do about it? Fly here?"
"..."
"This little… Anyway, I found Felix."
"..."
This time Gabriel was left speechless for a few moments, and then he roared like crazy. "Are you serious?! What's he doing there? How? Is he well? What happened?"
"Calm down, and no, he's not well. Not mentally nor physically, and we have Pope Axel and the Church to thank for that," Sylvester quickly calmed him down. "Keep this news to yourself for now; I'll bring him as a surprise to Isabella soon. I contacted you mainly to inform you about our next strategy to influence Beastaria…"
The discussion went on for almost an hour. Since it was night in Beastaria, Sylvester had nothing to do but spend the night. As he and Felix had caused quite a chaos there, no animal or creature dared come closer to them. By the firelight, they kept warm and rested.
"...Other than eighty thousand stacks for the printing presses, keep some stacks ready for books. I'll be writing a few. Once I become the Pope, we'll need to mass-produce everything and flood them into Beastaria." Sylvester explained everything in great detail.
By the end, Gabriel had gathered a few stacks of paper around him. "This is a lot of work, but we can do it. With the good news you told me, I feel even more motivated. But there is something you should know about. Recently, Lord Inquisitor sent a missive describing strange activity in the Holy Land. The administration is working as if it's taking someone's order. But it's not the Saint Scepter or the Saint Cardinals. He described the air in the Holy Land as—eerie."
"Silence before a storm?" Sylvester mumbled. He remembered the tattoo of Saint Scepter's name on his wrist as memories of the man flooded back. "Good work. I will try to finish in Beastaria this week and start my return journey. Take care until then, Gab."
"You too, Max."
Sylvester finally cut the connection and opened his eyes. It was still dark out, but distant morning birds had started to chirp, meaning the sunrise wasn't too far away. But he noticed Felix's burned eyes were still wide open, glancing at him. There was the scent of hope, happiness, and admiration.
"What happened?" Sylvester asked, finding Felix's gaze fixated on him. "Don't tell me you're horny for me now."
"Pfft…" Felix almost bellowed in laughter. "Damn you, it hurts to laugh… But no, I wasn't infatuated with you. I just felt those elven ears suit you so well… a little too well."
'He knows.' Sylvester didn't react physically or internally. His heart didn't shoot off with loud beatings, nor did his pupil dilate. 'Saint Scepter did tell everyone about me while remaining hidden behind his strange magic.'
"Saint Scepter?"
"Argh!" Felix abruptly grabbed his head. "So many memories came… He tortured me a few times too… Yes, it was him… I remember now! Wait, why didn't I remember him before?"
'He remembered the elf revelation but not who revealed it. So this means Saint Scepter has control over what people forget and remember concerning himself.' Sylvester deduced from that exchange, confirming his doubts.
"Lord Inquisitor reacted the same way when I spoke of Saint Scepter. In short, Saint Scepter is the big bad guy behind everything—he's been the shadow ruler all along," Sylvester clarified without wasting too much time, getting straight to the point. "But, let me ask you… Would you hate me if I actually have elf blood in me?"
"Hah… I'd pity you… to live in fear your entire life. Scared of ending up like Markus… I'd pity you for not having a place to call home on both continents." Felix replied with worry in his voice. "So I guess it's true? When did you find out? For how long have you been living in fright?"
"Always." Sylvester gave a simple one-word answer.
Felix sighed and finally closed his eyes. "Indeed—The Church has screwed us over from the start."
Sylvester was thankful that Felix didn't ask any more questions or seek any clarifications. The man simply accepted it as a fact and went to sleep, a quality Sylvester cherished in his closest friend.
…
Morning came, and they wasted no time packing their luggage and heading toward the east. Sylvester had spoken with Avanss, and the man was already waiting for him outside the city, making arrangements for his infiltration into the city as well as the Blue Leaves building.
"So, what do you expect to find in Deca Imperia? Entering the place won't be easy. It's the most guarded city on this continent," Felix asked, trying to advise based on his six years of experience in the region.
"I don't know what I'll find, but an elven prince is helping me get inside. I saved the man from a hundred-year-long imprisonment in Masan," Sylvester revealed as they continued to make strides.
They came across small villages of goblins and simply swung their arms or swords to wipe them off the face of the continent. They were easy to deal with, but their numbers were too great. It was comparable to wishing to wipe out all ants from the world.
"I always enjoyed taking out my anger on these." Felix reminisced about his past spent on the continent. "I lost count after killing two hundred thousand of them… they just keep multiplying."
"That's goblins for you," Sylvester muttered and remembered the Tome of the Gods that Avanss gave him before, and wondered if it had a testimony of the god of the goblins too.
But it was something to be explored later as they neared Deca Imperia. It was a massive city surrounded by grasslands on all sides. Its immense size was due to the need to accommodate dragons and giants, as well as centaurs and vampires. The city was a mix of all sorts of architecture that came from various cultures.
It was once a symbol of unity, but now a hotbed of politics. The city sat on magically elevated land, which made it a massive plateau with cliffs on all its sides. It only had one entry point, which was accessible through a river or the road beside it.
"That's… beautiful," Sylvester muttered while standing at a distance and looking at the sky-high towers of one of the elven castles of the city. "Avanss said he'd meet us here."
With Miraj already in the sky surveying the area to find Avanss, Sylvester and Felix did their best to stay hidden despite standing in the middle of a grassland. For Sylvester, it was easy, but for Felix, it was impossible with his burned face.
"...Psst…"
At the sound, Sylvester looked left and right. "Avanss?"
"Down… look down!"
Sylvester glanced down. There, a transparent thick glass appeared, behind which Avanss stood. "When did you dig this?"
"It's a tunnel I made from the Old City. Get inside quickly… The elven entourage will pass through anytime now." Avanss quickly removed the glass and allowed them to come inside.
After Sylvester got Miraj back in his arms, he immediately closed the glass lid on the cave opening and covered it with dirt and grass.
"Who is this?" Avanss was alerted by Felix's presence. His armor was so distinct that it screamed at his affiliation with the Church of Solis.
"Long story, I'll tell you later. I trust him with my life. That's what matters." Sylvester remained on the main topic. "Now, what's the plan? How do I enter the city?"
Avanss smirked widely, almost too excitedly. "Well… I got you some help from a 'friend' in a very high place."
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