Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
In the Bright Hall in Lance, the Holy City…
By the time Philibell arrived, all the Grand Cardinals who were free had been gathered. Benedict III stood above the stairs with a platinum staff in his hands. Behind him was an enormous, sacred cross.
“I’ve summoned you today because I have a secret mission for you, which concerns the glory of the Lord, the survival of the Church, and your future,” Benedict III said solemnly; his slightly cloudy eyes were as thoughtful and peaceful as ever.
Melmax, the Holy Avenger, stepped forward and said, “Your Holiness, what mission is it exactly that requires half of the Grand Cardinals to accomplish?”
He hadn’t recovered from the wounds he suffered during Douglas’ advancement into the demigod level. Therefore, he was rather prudent about missions.
Instead of giving a straight answer, Benedict III looked at the glass window near the dome of the Bright Hall. As the brilliant sunlight penetrated through the colorful glass, dreamy shadows were left on the ground.
“Douglas’ advancement gave confidence to the sorcerers and showed them the bright future of arcana and magic. As long as the path is not proved to be a dead-end, they can hardly be tempted. Also, the situation in the world has been greatly changed. Our estimation of the future has to change accordingly.” Benedict III repeated the current situation with a low voice, “Admit it or not, one demigod, four top legends, and an equal number of legendary experts are out there, and the Congress of Magic is already as strong as us.
“In the meantime, we have to face the northern heretics, the great devil Maltimus in the Boundless Ocean, and the evil god ‘Silver Moon’ in the Dark Mountain Range. The situation is very rough.”
None of the Grand Cardinals said anything because it was an obvious fact. Although the Congress of Magic had to take care of the Lord of Hell and the northern hectics too, the Dark Congress and the Elven Court were at least their allies for now. The Church, on the other hand, was almost helpless.
It seemed to be an inevitable process during the decline of every reigning force. Because their power had left too deep an impression on other forces, and an irresolvable feud had been struck between them, the other forces were likely to reach an agreement to overthrow the reigning force first before they fought each other. It was exactly like what happened to the Magic Empire!
Benedict III’s old and heavy voice echoed in the Bright Hall, “Although I have informed you of the status transformation and the method to gather godhood through the power of faith granted by the Lord, and your strength must’ve increased over the past few years, we still have to face one problem after twenty years of arcana development and the subsequent expansion of the Congress of Magic.”
He paused and looked around at all the Grand Cardinals present.
Saint Maria, Saint Kati, Philibell, Astira, and the other Grand Cardinals all lowered their heads and avoided the pope’s eyes. Over the past years, they had made great contributions to the ever-surging cults under the territory of the Church.
Moving his eyes back, Benedict III went on, “Considering the current trend, until your strength has fundamental improvements and the number of new legends catches up with that of the Congress of Magic, the Congress of Magic will certainly divide and conquer us with its overwhelming strength, exactly like how the Congress of Magic was destroyed by us in the past.
“This is not a threat with the worst possibility. You should know well that most sorcerers in the Congress of Magic haven’t really digested the products of arcana development during the recent two decades. After all, it’s normal that the expansion of strength is ten years behind theoretical development. You should know very well how strong they will be in another ten years.”
After Benedict III finished, Astira asked in confusion, “Your Holiness, it’s very visionary of you to describe the comparison of our strengths in the future. You’ve analyzed our dilemma too. However, the greatest and most fundamental difference between us and the Magic Empire is that we have you, the Lord’s spokesperson on the ground and the strongest demigod. The Magic Empire, on the other hand, only had top legends.
“Demigods are a deterrence and a balance. As long as the demigod is not destroyed, it will be barely possible to eliminate his force, because it will make the demigod fearless and wreak havoc on his enemy. Therefore, demigods who can mutually destroy each other’s forces are the best guarantee of peace, exactly like our strike on vampires. I believe that the Congress of Magic will take that into consideration too. Perhaps the situation where we confront each other with the Storm Strait in between will go on, while we gradually carve up the forces that do not have demigods.”
Saint Kati also stood up. “Astira is right. The unkillable demigods will keep the current situation. Also, more importantly, as the strongest demigod, Your Holiness can perform God’s Arrival. Neither the Silver Moon, the Lord of Hell, nor Douglas can resist it. That’s the best guarantee for the Church’s position. They will not dare to attack us easily.
“By the time our strength is increased, we will be able to wake up the Lord. Under the brilliance of the true god, all evilness will be melted.”
He was only talking about his hope, as to whether or not the God of Truth could be awakened, and in exactly what way it should be done, that was a whole different matter.
Benedict III heaved a sigh. “Demigods are not really immortal. At the very least, I have a lot of problems myself. If they can grasp those problems, even if they cannot completely kill me, they will be able to imprison me like I imprison the monster. Since I have God’s Arrival, I must be the primary target for Douglas, the Silver Moon, and Maltimus. It is possible that they will join their hands. How are we going to deal with that?”
No Grand Cardinals were able to give an answer in the Bright Hall. The atmosphere became depressive and frozen. Although the danger was still far away, the worst possibility seemed to be happening sooner or later based on His Holiness’ analysis.
“Your Holiness, what is the mission that you want to give us?” Melmax suddenly broke the silence. “Is it about our future disaster?”
Benedict III slowly raised his platinum staff. He looked solemn and grave.
Seeing that, all the Grand Cardinals immediately kneeled and drew crosses on their chests while praying devoutly, “Only Truth lives forever!”
It was the gesture to proclaim the Lord’s oracle!
“The Lord has given me an oracle, telling me how the problems can be resolved.” Benedict III’s voice was filled with “sincere gratitude”. “The reason why negative feelings cannot be controlled or separated even though ‘containers’ are used is that the power of negative feelings and the power of faith are not equal during the last step before turning into a demigod.”
Saint Maria frowned subconsciously. “Not equal? They’re both the surreal power of the mind. How can they not be equal?”
She suddenly realized what she just said. “Your Holiness, I am not questioning the Lord. I’m only hoping that you can fulfill my ignorance.”
“Because Mountain Paradise is behind the power of faith, the projection of Mountain Paradise will appear when one tries to become a demigod. The power of negative feelings, on the other hand, can only gather the seven primeval devils. How can they be equal to Mountain Paradise? As a result, the balance is lost, the problems are left,” Benedict III explained expressionlessly.
“How can they be equal?” Philibell asked. It was a question that they really cared about because they believed that they would reach the step sooner or later.
Benedict III put down the platinum staff and nodded his head. “We need more ‘primeval devils’. We need to gather them into a primeval hell, which requires your cooperation because I cannot accomplish it myself. Actually, it completely matches the core of our path to the demigod level; gathering the power of the people and turning the weak into the strong.”
For some reason, when they heard Benedict III’s announcement, the first thing that the Grand Cardinals remembered was Lucien’s paper and the prediction in it; the evolution from a weak observer to a strong observer!
“Your Holiness, what should we do?” Saint Kati asked. They certainly had to ask every detail clearly. After all, it concerned their own safety. What if their attempts failed, and the primeval devils in their bodies lost control?
“Based on my speculation, such ‘gathering’ will result in subsequent changes in the primeval hell. After that…” Benedict III spoke of his whole plan without hiding anything.
After identifying the key of the plan, the Grand Cardinals accepted the mission, each thinking about their own business. They left the Bright Hall for the final preparations.
After they all disappeared from the Bright Hall, Benedict III still stood where he was and looked at the gate with thoughtful eyes.
……
“Jealousy?” The moment Lucien opened his mouth, “Natasha” and “Sylvia”, who had been entangling with each other in bed, stood up. One of them stood in the front, and the other clutched her timidly.
“I’m sorry. You are great, but I still love her.” “Natasha” stared at Lucien fearlessly.
Lucien’s lips twitched, only because the line was too familiar. Then, he smiled. “It’s useless. If I do not have such confidence, how do I deserve to say love? It’s time for a new trick, Jealousy.”
As he talked, Lucien was already prepared for an attack because Lust might be hiding in the dark. It might be dangerous if they attacked together.
“Haha.” “Natasha” and “Sylvia” both giggled in a voice that was completely different from their own. “What a boring man.”
In their laughter, their bodies crumbled into dust.
Lucien had thought that the two primeval devils would attack together, but out of his expectation, they simply left.
Turning his head, Lucien saw the dressing mirror on one side of the bed and his reflection in it. It was wearing the same black double-breasted suit, top hat, and black shoes, but on the familiar handsome face, it was not a smile but disdain.
“Lucien” in the mirror suddenly sneered and said, “Do you know that you have been too arrogant? Because of your top legendary strength and your powerful, weird spells, you despise the seven primeval devils and think that they cannot cause you any harm. You laugh at them for their every attempt to manipulate your feelings.
“Your idea is the purest arrogance. Arrogance is never a feeling. So, I have been born in your heart for you to look at yourself. You can never kill me or defeat me, because I am you!”
It walked out of the mirror one step after another, and its black shoes stomped on the tawny carpet.
