Hearing Saint Scepter's words, Sylvester's eyes turned bloodshot red. Miraj City was far away, and his body was out of Solarium. His shoulder was still bleeding, albeit slower, and his ribs were still broken. Lord Inquisitor's hands were crushed and couldn't be automatically healed. Meanwhile, Felix was unconscious, and Emperor Raz could not stand up due to fractures in his bones.
To reach the city before anything unfortunate happened was near impossible in their state. But Sylvester had no choice. He placed his left hand on his armless shoulder. After that, he used simple fire magic and burned his wound to stop the bleeding. He then wrapped it with a piece of his cape to avoid any infection from the air.
"We shall meet again, Sylvester Maximilian. After you become the Pope." Saint Scepter started to rise into the air, flying away. "May you find solace in your actions, no matter what happens."
The man vanished toward the sky, and Sylvester was left to his own devices. He felt relieved that the Saint Scepter didn't ask him to fulfill the contract right away. There was something about him he still had to find out, and he needed time for it.
But he did notice the despair and frustration emanating from the Inquisitor High Lord as he stood silently.
'He's probably disappointed in me.' Sylvester sensed it.
"The consequences of my actions are my own to bear. Don't lose hope, Lord Inquisitor, don't stop chanting that silent prayer. Let's heal Soulbreaker, Felix, and Emperor Raz. We must hurry back to the city." Sylvester rushed toward Soulbreaker, the one in the direst state. The man was barely holding up, still impaled on multiple bone spears.
"Chonky!" Sylvester called out for his little friend. "Where are you?"
Boom!
Just then, a thunderbolt fell from the sky, and Aurora appeared. Her hair floated, radiating a deep blue light that matched her eyes. "I… I finally found you! Where were you? And… Your arm Sylvester!"
"We were stuck in the Supreme Void," Sylvester replied and noticed Miraj sitting on Aurora's shoulder, likely the one who called her over. "We lost, Aurora—barely survived. Lord Inquisitor's hands are crushed to paste—the rest you can see. Miraj City is also under siege by Pope Axel since morning—be quick and start healing everyone. We must return quickly."
"Pope Axel? But he was dead." Aurora exclaimed in shock.
"No time to explain. Let's move first." Sylvester hurried.
Aurora asked no further and rushed to help Soulbreaker. Meanwhile, Sylvester asked Miraj to take out a few hundred bottles of healing potions, blood-replenishing potions, and some bags of Solarium Crystals.
Miraj simply opened his mouth wide and tossed out a few bags. "Maxy… He threw me out of the voidy place."
"I guessed that much," Sylvester responded and looked at Lord Inquisitor. "Put this potion on your hands and help Felix. I'll check Emperor Raz. His injuries might not conform to our norms."
Sylvester walked over to check on Emperor Raz. The man looked greatly damaged; his skeleton was gone from some places. "Are you alright? Where does it hurt?"
"Hurt? I'm incapable of feeling pain, Bard." Emperor Raz replied as if he wasn't injured at all. "I merely have to wait until the bones grow back, which will happen in a few hours. You did well accepting his proposal, Bard. His strength is immeasurable—I refuse to believe he's a mere Supreme Wizard."
"How can I help you?" Sylvester asked him, not very keen on talking about the contract. "I need to return to Miraj City quickly. It's under siege by Pope Axel."
Emperor Raz apologized, "Forgive me, Bard, but I can't engage in battle any longer, as I can't even stand. But we can fly to the city on my undead dragon."
It was a great offer. So Sylvester quickly gave Emperor Raz some loose robes to cover his body and helped him walk, nearly picking him up by the shoulder. They looked and noticed Felix was awake but sitting while clenching his stomach, a few ribs were likely snapped, and organs ruptured.
But Soulbreaker was still the most injured. Aurora had taken out the bone spears from his body and slowly healed the largest wounds. However, he had lost a lot of blood, and the blood-replenishing potions didn't work that swiftly.
"He'll die if we don't bring him to a healer and perform a blood transfusion," Aurora warned them.
"Get on the undead dragon," Sylvester quickly ordered them. "We might make it to Miraj City in an hour if we're lucky. On the way, absorb the Solarium Crystals. I know they won't be enough, but they could still help a little. We still have a long battle to fight, and I don't know how much we've lost by now."
Felix somehow got up, albeit with an arched back, and came to help. "Hurry up then—Everyone we cherish is there."
The large undead dragon was made of bones, so some big pieces of clothing had been fitted to its wings to give it some lift. Meanwhile, a saddle-like contraption was made for seating. It was small, but they could all squeeze in somehow.
Then Emperor Raz gave his command, and the dragon flew with a strong flap of its wings. Sylvester sat alone in the back and closed his eyes, trying to calm himself and speak with Gabiel in the city.
Using the Solarium Web, he looked for Gabriel's signature and connected with him after a bit of struggle. "What's the status, Gab?"
"Max?!" Gabriel's voice came immediately, slightly tense. "Did you win? What happened?"
Sylvester could sense the desperation in his voice. "No, but the battle has been nullified with some compromises. I'm coming back on an undead dragon, but we're all greatly injured. What's the status there, Gab… Is Mum safe?"
Gab remained silent for a while, and when he spoke again, his voice was hushed. "Max… We've lost control over our armies… the Pope's words swayed them and terrified them enough to obey his commands as he's still the Pope. They attacked the city itself; the Inquisitors are opposing them, but I don't know how long they can hold up.
"The city isn't destroyed, but Pope Axel is unstoppable. Nobody could stop him, the Dragon Snakes have also been defeated, and only the Shadow Knight has kept the Pope back from entering the Palace and getting to Mother Xavia. But the forces under the Pope's command are laying siege to the Palace—I'm trying to push them back as much as possible, Max…"
That explained the breaks that Gabriel took when speaking. He was busy fighting on the other side, trying to protect the Pope's Palace from being invaded.
Sylvester didn't trouble him any further. "Gab, I'll be there soon. Just hold on until then—Once I'm there, the Pope will stop on his own."
He ended the communication with Gabriel and opened his eyes. Resuming consuming the Solarium Crystals, he tried to regain some of the lost energy. But soon, he noticed a bigger issue. His wounds weren't healing for some reason. He glanced at Inquisitor High Lord; his hands still looked crushed, utterly destroyed, and bleeding profusely. Felix wasn't fine either, having fallen unconscious again, same for Soulbreaker.
'Did Saint Scepter do something else to us? Poison?'
"Give the Lord Inquisitor blood-replenishing potions," Sylvester ordered Aurora. "Losing too much blood will lead to hallucinations."
Inquisitor High Lord emitted a low grunt and declined the offer from Aurora. "Save this for your battles to come, Bard. To relieve yourself from the blood contract will be hard."
"Father, please don't do this. Your hands can be healed once we reach the city." Aurora worriedly tried to convince him.
Sylvester sighed and moved closer, taking a seat beside Lord Inquisitor. The big man was skilled at conveying much through few words. "Lord Inquisitor, is this where your belief in me ends? Because of a small roadblock on our path to greatness?"
Inquisitor High Lord shook his head. The burning rageful scent decreased a bit. "I never doubted you before; I don't doubt you now. To lose my faith, my life's experiences won't allow."
Sylvester noticed that they had entered a sandy area, which meant the city was close. He tried to uplift the Lord Inquisitor's spirits. "Then take the blood-replenishing potion. There is much for you to accomplish in the future as my Inquisitor High Lord."
"Listen to him, father." Aurora insisted, not liking the mysterious gloom she felt after hearing him. "After this war, we have so much more to do."
But Lord Inquisitor silently gazed toward the west.
'This scent again… Why is this coming from him?' Sylvester noticed something behind Lord Inquisitor's rage, and it haunted him greatly. 'What's going on in his mind?'
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