223 Unexpected Change (1/2)
Chapter 223: Unexpected Change
Translator: _Leo_Editor: Vermillion
When the knight that was kneeling on one knee and holding a helmet in his arms declared war against the Congress of Magic as he thought the realm of the God was defiled, the rest of the Episcopal Conference members were drawing crosses in front of their chests. They shouted, ”We shall purify these evil sorcerers with the holy light and force them to repent while crawling under God’s feet. The realm of the God shall not be explored by the mortals!”
The pope had a serious expression and was holding a platinum scepter in hand and the Holy Crown was on his head. The leader of the Ascetics named Varantine was wearing a short linen robe, he noticed the pope’s situation and stepped forward.
”Your Holiness, Knight Stone is the representative of all the devout believers. They’re angry because God is defiled. Please don’t worry, the herectics of the north will not attack us using this chance unless they already lost their face and no longer believe in the truth. However, their base will be destroyed and I think they’ll also attack the Congress of Magic after the situation gets worse,” Varantine suggested.
Varantine had short blonde hair and he was not wearing anything on his feet. There was a pair of energetic blue eyes over his thin cheeks.
Behind Varantine, there were more than ten episcopal bishops, three important members of the Inquisition, and the legendary knights including Stone. They were still trying to convince the pope, ”Your Holiness, please give us the order and start the second War of Dawn. We need to gather our army for the Congress of Magic but the nobles are still needed at the Dark Mountain Range.”
The pope, Benedict II, raised the holy scepter to the air. His voice was so deep that it sounded like he was speaking from the sky, ”I’m glad that you’re devout believers of God and I’m sure that God is pleased with the words you just said. However, I have one question for you, are you losing your faith in God? Do you really think the Congress of Magic can find out God’s secrets? The mortals can never touch God’s realm! Have you already forgotten what God told us?”
It almost looked like the pope’s red cloak was dancing in the gentle wind, as he was surrounded by the intense holy aura that came with the holy light. The aura was so strong that it could not be contested by anything.
The members of the Episcopal Conference were not sure how they should answer the pope’s question and they were trying to find out where their anger came from. They were angry because God was defiled and they were devout believers, however, they could not decline that fear was spreading in their minds. They were worried that the Congress of Magic could explore God’s realm like exploring the world. They wanted to stop the Congress and strangle the sorcerer’s plans in the cradle.
”It’ll be a lie if I say that I’m not guilty. My ignorance blinded me from the truth. God is kind and fair, I shall confess myself and hope that God will forgive me.” The members of the Episcopal Conference started repenting after a moment of silence.
Benedict II waited for them to finish repenting and opened his mouth, ”The Congress of Magic will not be able to explore God’s realm, however, we can’t forgive them for what they have done. Varantine and Vaharall, take some ascetics and night watchers to aid Philibell in Holm. We shall eliminate the sorcerers and make them pay for what they have done!
”Also, you need to assist the druids and elves in Steloop Forest and make the sorcerers think that we’re about to attack, so they can use the excuse to call back the druids that are working with the Congress of Magic.”
”As you wish, Your Holiness.” The leader of the ascetics, Varantine, and one of the three Inquisition’s important members, Vaharall the Adjudicator, bowed to the pope at the same time.
The other members of the Episcopal Conference thought that the pope’s order was reasonable, however, they had a strange feeling in mind. The incident was supposed to touch off the war and the balance of the land would be broken but the pope convinced them that they should focus on punishing the sorcerers who defiled God.
”It was a wise decision. We’re strong but we’re pressured by multiple organizations and the situation might get worse if we start the war without proper preparation. We should calm down and wait for the day to come.” The members of Episcopal Conference had changed their thoughts, they drew the crosses in front of their chests and left the Bright Hall.
Benedict II lowered his scepter and returned to his reading room, where a cardinal was waiting for him. The cardinal stepped forward and questioned, ”Your Holiness, the intel sent back by Bishop Philibell mentioned the information of the Holm Crown reward, the Congress of Magic and the druids’ progression of the research on divine magic.”
”Keep the intel safe, as we might need it later. We should focus on dealing with the incident for now.” Benedict II waved his hand. It seemed like he was not concerned about the things that did not matter. That intel was not something that needed to be sent to all the Inquisitions, as was the Cleansing List.
The pope closed the door after the cardinal left, and then looked at the portraits of the previous popes with a blank expression on his face.
The name of the popes and the how long they had stayed in this world before returning to the arms of God were written under the portraits.
...
”Charles I, Saint Calendar year 350 - 572.”
”Alfonsol, Saint Calendar year 387 – 633”
”Charles II, Saint Calendar year 408 – 686.”
”Benedict I, Saint Calendar year 474 – 745.”
”Gregory II, Saint Calendar year 548 – 796.”
A hint of smile appeared on Benedict II’s face and he muttered in a deep tone, ”How can the mortals find the way to the secret of God?”
...
Saturday morning, the sun was still rising.
In a mansion beside the town Sariva, Felipe was doing some magic experiments with a serious expression on his face. Although he only visited the lab twice this week and did not stay there for the night, the man’s incredible analysis skill still stopped the druids from trying to trick him. The druids could not find any excuse to interrupt the experiment so they had to change the data Felipe obtained. However, Felipe was not concerned about the progression of the experiment at all, as he was focusing on creating an important living substance from nonliving ones.
Felipe saw the colorless crystal forming in the low-temperature environment as the light appeared on the last alchemical circle.
He tried his best to calm down and started heating the translucent crystal. The crystal melted and was turned into liquid quickly. Also, the magic circle detected a gas with an irritating smell.
Felipe took one step back and cast the identifying spell, getting the result within seconds. The liquid was a fatty acid that he needed, and it was a substance that could only be found inside the bodies of living beings.