568 Stars Above (2/2)

”Pope… Why are you here? Where is Francois?” Douglas was not too panicked. In his own demiplane and his own magic tower, he was confident to fight the pope, the Silver Moon, or the Lord of Hell even if they came in person - on the premise that they did not have God's Arrival. Therefore, he was not scared of the pope who had been projected into Francois' body in a strange way.

The mysterious magic circles were activated, turning the Land of Truth outside into dark night with stars in the high sky.

Benedict III showed little reaction. He merely smiled, ”Francois willingly let me project. Otherwise, it is impossible for me to be projected into an archmage's body.”

”So, he has been working for the Church. No wonder there were so many leaks. I had always thought that there were spies in the Affair Committee, but I didn't know it was him.” Douglas felt sad when he was faced with the spy who was of the highest level. The old friend who established the Congress of Magic with me had betrayed his dream and joined his nemesis in the end?

He also felt lucky that Project Mushroom Cloud was only known by a few trusted members of the Affair Committee, and that Francois was not among them.

Benedict III said peacefully, ”Francois recognized arcana's fundamental problem, so he returned to the arms of the Lord. Douglas, don't deny it. You are already starting to believe in the First Cause and the supreme being.”

”Yes, I can't deny that I'm more or less convinced by the First Cause and the supreme being.” Douglas replied expressionlessly.

In delight, Benedict III said, ”Very good. If you are willing to be baptized, you will be the First Saint of the Church and the pope later. You will know the secrets of demigods and receive eternal happiness.”

Douglas suddenly chuckled. ”Just because I believe that doesn't mean that I will worship the God of Truth.”

”What? Are you not clear about the power of 'God's Arrival'? Did you not see the projection of Mountain Paradise? If you are willing to join the Church, I can reveal part of demigod secrets to you right now.” Benedict III was somewhat surprised.

Douglas pointed at the starry sky outside the window. ”Benedict III, you probably have never explored space like we sorcerers have, right?”

”So what?” Benedict III did not understand why Douglas said that.

With extreme zealotry and fascination, Douglas stared at the sky. ”Only after you've been there will you know how boundless space is, and how insignificant you, I, the Silver Moon, the Lord of Hell and the entire world are compared to it.”

”Even if I believe in the First Cause, I don't believe that such a great being will fight for territory with us and vampires in such a small world.”

”My god perhaps will accept our prayer and pacify our heart, but the 'God of Truth', who launches divine power and graces directly and who encourages the Church to compete for resources and territory in this world, is nothing at all compared to the awe-inspiring, infinite space.”

Then, Douglas turned back around and looked at Benedict III.

”So, do you think that he deserves my belief?”

At this moment, the man who built the Congress of Magic from scratch fully revealed his confidence and pride.

Benedict III looked awful. Douglas was indeed lost, but he was lost in a different way.

”I want to know the secrets of the demigods, but I despise your methodology.” Douglas said with a peaceful smile. ”One day, you will realize that sorcerers are not the enemies of faith; it's just that our eyes are not as limited to this narrow place as yours.”

”The future of sorcerers lies in the boundless space, somewhere close to the 'truth'!”

Benedict III sighed, ”To be a demigod is harder than you think. Sometimes, vastness does not mean the truth; beings of higher levels and forms are. Now that you've refused my offer, I'll take my leave.”

”Let Francois go with you. He contributed to the establishment of the Congress of Magic. I do not want to punish him for his doing, but he must leave the Congress.” Douglas also sighed. Benedict III was obviously only a projection. Killing Francois wouldn't hurt him at all. In the meantime, he intended to ask Hellen, who guarded Allyn, to watch over Francois in case he sabotaged anything.

Without further ado, Benedict III left the magic tower.

When he stepped into the transmission magic circles, Francois' body suddenly melted into blood stained with holy light. Then, drawing weird symbols, the blood shut down all the space nodes, as if Douglas had turned off the demiplane on his own.

Douglas frowned and tried to open it again, only to discover that it would take him at least two days. He was more or less surprised. ”Is this a demigod spell? My demiplane can be temporarily blocked by sacrificing one projection and one ninth-circle archmage?”

He felt rather lucky again. If they had waited for the Church to attack them, such a method that could cage the top legendary sorcerers in their demiplanes could be very fatal. It meant that they would be divided and conquered. The Congress was far weaker than the Church in the first place. They would be wiped out for sure if they got even more divided.

”Thankfully, we launched the attack in advance and took the initiative. However, what is Benedict III trying to do?” Douglas did not think that he would start a war at such a moment, unless he intended to join the Congress with the contribution of annihilating the Church. Therefore, Douglas was not very anxious, albeit a bit puzzled.

”Although the previous spell was mixed with holy light, it was more like some of the unique, peculiar magics of the ancient sorcerers. It seems that the Church reaped a lot of classics when the Magic Empire was destroyed.”