“Both of you shall fight each other until death. The winner wins the war.”

Sylvester’s words fell like a deadly sword over their fates. The two kings looked at each other’s faces with a hint of fright, which they suppressed with a little pride. The two men weren’t in their prime, and fighting was out of the question for them.

King Elmond of Sorland shook his head, “Your Holiness… We respect you dearly. But you are breaking the law that you wrote yourself. We, as independent kingdoms, have the right to settle our own dispute—”

Sylvester raised his palm and silenced the man. He looked at King Hathem, who used to be an Archbishop. “Tell me, Hathem, what happens when multiple Clergymen are killed because of a noble person’s actions? What is the law that shall be imposed in this situation?”

King Hathem frowned, knowing very well what the answer was. However, he couldn’t bring himself to say it, as he, too, was to be punished accordingly.

Sylvester sighed and started listing the laws to be evoked. He kept his voice loud so the soldiers could also listen, “Article 5A for creating hindrance in the workings of a Clergyman. Article 12F stipulates that a nobility must assist the church in solving a case when needed. The entirety of Article 4, with all its subsections, details the basic respect for a child of Solis. Article 10, which is punishable by death for harming a Clergyman—You two ignored the high-ranking Cardinals sent here as mediators. You killed fifteen Clergymen with your actions, one of whom was a low-level mediator—Why must I not invoke Article 66 on both of you?”

The two kings felt their legs shiver. If they didn’t fight, that meant both of them would be punished, and it’d mean death. If they fought, one of them could at least be considered a winner.

“I will duel with Hathem,” King Elmond announced, taking his sword from one of his attendant knights. “I will put an end to this war!”

“Then I have no mercy for you either!” King Hathem did the same and raised his sword.

Sylvester stayed seated in his chair and clapped, “Start anytime. The last man standing will be the victor.”

“Haaaa!” King Hathem charged forward.

Both men were old with white hair on their heads. Elmond was fat, while Hathem was thin and tall. They both had advantages, but in general, they were at a disadvantage as they couldn’t even swing their swords properly. Every time they swung, the swords pulled them along with the momentum.

Clash!

At last, they struck, and their blades clashed. Afterward, a battle to push each other began. The two roared like madmen despite their battle looking nowhere near as exciting. They spat on each other. They fell at the same time and rolled around in the mud.

Ugly, weak, and untrained—that was all people could say. The soldiers felt disgusted that they were fighting for these two men while the commanders began to plot their retirement.

“Haaaa!”

Clash!

The two fell, stood up, and swung their blades. Other than minor flesh wounds, they could not land a finishing blow. They looked tired already, with their breaths ragged and faces covered with mucus coming from their noses and mouths. The fear of death took over their minds as their eyes burned red.

Thud!

A few minutes later, the two men fell to the ground away from each other. Both were still alive, and they no longer tried to stand up and fight.

Sylvester grew annoyed and stood up, “Even now, you two give me nothing but disappointment. As I am the Pope, the Judge above Judges, I shall give the verdict of this duel. Both of you shall be publicly hanged to death, for your crimes were against the people. The gold you lusted for belongs to the two kingdoms and its people—it shall be used to enrich the lives of all and not a selected few.”

“Nooo!”

“We will fight!”

“You two have done enough,” Sylvester snapped his fingers and melted the mouths of the two men into a single piece of flesh, painfully so.

Then, looking around at the soldiers, he announced the war’s end “The senseless war is over, but the investigation is not. Any of you who committed a sin against the civilians by raiding their villages, stealing, raping, and murdering—shall face the same fate as these two. Know this; I despise war, but I despise the people who use it as an excuse to further their heretic fetishes even more.

“Go back to your home now. Each of you will be awarded an amount from your King’s personal treasury. I shall personally oversee the two kingdoms until a fitting new ruler appears or a new system of administration is formalized,” Sylvester sternly warned them all.

With that, the commanders of the army took the reins and began to organize the armies to retreat and eventual disbandment. It was also at that moment that a unit of Inquisitors came on their horses from the nearest major monastery.

“Take these kings and hang them in their respective capital cities. Read their crimes out loud, and declare them heathens before they take their last breaths,” Sylvester ordered the Inquisitors.

After that, he silently looked around to find where the massive chunk of Skygem was. The great thing about Skygem was that it was the best natural conductor of solarium known in the world. That meant sensing it with his Elder Magic was the easiest way to find it.

“We looking for pebbles now?” Miraj asked as Sylvester walked around the shared boundary of the two kingdoms.

Sylvester kept his focus on the ground the entire time, “Yes. A very big pebble—expensive as well.”

Miraj’s eyes shined, and he flew around to help, “Finally, you are learning to cherish the shiny pebbles like me—I’m so proud of you, son!”

“…”

Sylvester chose not to respond to Miraj at that moment and kept his search going. He reckoned the place was going to be the most guarded, as it may contain the biggest treasure in the entire world.

But eventually, he came across a suspiciously untouched, empty part of the border. As far as he could see, there weren’t even many footprints.

‘Let’s see.’

He stood there and let his senses take over. The Elder Magic, allowing him to manipulate the solarium itself, allowed him to feel everything that was in the surroundings, including under the ground.

It wasn’t easy, but he was not a Supreme Wizard for nothing. He went a few meters deep, then tens of meters deep, and at last.

“FOUND IT!” He exclaimed. “Good god, it’s far bigger than what Gabriel said. Chonky, get ready to devour something. I’ll give you ten bananas and squishes in return.”

“No squishes, but I’ll take the banana,” Miraj chirped back and prepared himself.

Boom!

And with that, Sylvester used some Earth Elemental magic and removed all the dirt, sand, and stones in the ground. He made a massive hole that went very deep, freeing the dark black stone with blue veins. It was huge, and there was no telling how deep it went. But in Chonky, Sylvester trusted.

“Go ahead. Take the entire stone into your belly,” Sylvester signaled and stepped back.

“Aye Aye…” Miraj activated his innate magic, and his mouth began to suck everything in like a black hole. A lot of dirt entered as well, and the ground felt as if it was shaking, but ultimately, the hole Sylvester had made began to widen, signaling the entire size was far bigger than the tip.

Boom!

Like a faint shadow, something emerged from the ground and instantly vanished into Miraj’s mouth at lightning speed. With that, the noises vanished, and the massive hole in the ground became the only evidence left.

“It was very big,” Miraj mumbled, rubbing his squishy belly. “That deserves twenty bananas, not ten.”

Sylvester again chose to ignore that. However, he also decided to give him fifteen bananas just to cheer him up some more.

“Well, our job is done here. The administration work is for Gabriel to handle, and Lazark will provide all the intelligence. We still have to meet with Nehilius quickly, so let’s return,” Sylvester quickly soared to the sky before anyone saw him and started making his way toward the east.

He didn’t go north and decided to fly directly over the Divine Desert. He’d have thought about it a thousand times if it was the past him, but with the strength of a Supreme Wizard, nothing in the desert could hurt him.

“Faster! Go faster, Maxy! Let me feel the wind!” Miraj, sitting on Sylvester’s head, meowed in delight. The furball had been living in holiday mode ever since he had met Sylvester, enjoying every moment of his life.

Sylvester agreed and kicked his feet. Each time he stepped forward, the Light Tile underneath his feet cracked and broke apart. He knew he could have gone faster, but sadly, it was an ability he simply couldn’t master for some reason.

Woosh!

‘What was that?!’

Sylvester abruptly paused.

‘This scent of hope and hopelessness combined… I’ve sensed it before.’

Sylvester was alerted as there shouldn’t be anyone nearby in the Divine Desert. But then, he looked to his left at the distant sky and noticed a black spot that continued to grow bigger, and with it, the scents intensified.

‘Is that?’

“Chonky, be careful,” he notified the happy cat and received a spear from Miraj’s belly.

Boom!

The black spot soon formed details, and the person stopped before Sylvester, hovering in the middle of the air. Wearing brown dirty robes, hair that was gray, sunken eyes with dark circles, and no will to live in his eyes.

“We meet again, Julius,” Sylvester addressed from a distance, turning completely serious. He had often wondered where the man was but never found the time to search for him.

Julius only looked slightly better than their previous encounter, “Pope Sylvester, I presume you ended the mindless war?”

“I did,” Sylvester answered. “Where are you headed?”

“To the Holy Land.”

“To do what?” Sylvester became vigilant, as the man was akin to a great natural disaster. He was confident in defeating him but not sure in doing that without paying some heavy price.

Julius stared into Sylvester’s golden eyes, his own appearing cold and calculative, “To take up your offer. I shall see you make this world a better place with my own eyes and help you—but if you falter; end you.”

Silence ensued. The warm, dry air over the Divine Desert seemingly made Sylvester sweat. But in reality, it was merely his mind that was busy thinking about all the possibilities if things went wrong. After all, he knew that Julius would be able to see how he controlled the world through proxies.

‘Having another Supreme Wizard can be a boon, but if he can’t accept my way of doing things, he’ll be a bane.’

“I sense hesitations,” Julius questioned, being a smart man comparable to Sylvester in wits. “Do you fear I will backstab you? That I would not understand your path to peace?”

Sylvester shook his head, “No, but there is a condition that you must agree to before I accept you into the administration of the Holy Land.”

Julius’ emotionless eyes narrowed, and a dangerous aura flared from him. Both pams began flickering with a black aura, his magic flaring up. “What is it? A Blood Contract? If such is your desire, I believe we should battle and kill each o—”

“I won’t accept you…” Sylvester interrupted and revealed his condition. “Unless you teach me how to fly.”

“…”

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