I Became The Pope, Now What?

723 722. A Surprise In Waiting

"The demons," King Gargamon revealed, continuing to stare at Sylvester. "You don't seem shocked by this."

"If it's a war that spans the entire world, it's not too hard to guess who the enemies could be if not gods," Sylvester replied, appearing calm on the surface but a little frustrated inside. "You said the world was ruined, memories were wiped, and some were killed after we lost the war five thousand years ago. But then how did you come to know of my name supposedly spoken ten thousand years ago?"

"This specter of mine exists for the blessing of the messenger, the being of light who enlightened me. Many faiths in history have known your name, Sylvester Maximilian. The Faith of Luna, the God of Dryads, the one worshiped by the cannibals—Your name has been passed down generation after generation, but sadly forgotten. The reason for which I shut the gates of Gantis," King Gargamon answered and quickly changed the topic. "I am but a dead man, a messenger."

Sylvester sighed and wondered if this changed anything. At this point, he knew more than King Gargamon, as he also knew the names of the two Primordial Gods. "Does this mean that the demons have developed and advanced themselves as a species for the past ten thousand years? We are five thousand years less developed?"

"That I do not know. The realm of demons remains a mystery to me, and most of my generation. But I do know that this shall be the last chance for us. If we lose once again, it will be the end of this world."

"And what is the message that you wish to pass down?" Sylvester asked.

"Not a message, but a sight," King Gargamon replied and raised his hand, changing the scenery of the projection around them. It started to look like the insides of a massive cavern, and there was a hand-drawn formation all around the ceiling. "What this is, or what it teaches, I do not know. But remember this mysterious rune scheme—This is the message, the hope, the last chance."

'Elder Runes? But this many?' Sylvester stared at the rocky ceiling. The hand-drawn, white lines that formed a massive rune scheme with letters everywhere in the Elder Rune script, left him baffled. This was far bigger than even what the First Pope had taught him in the Ancient Temple.

"Space," he exclaimed once he deduced the main goal behind the rune scheme. But then he focused on memorizing the whole thing and silently noting it down while evaluating each aspect of it.

'This… It feels like coordinates, but three-dimensional.' Sylvester spent a few minutes in some confusion and finished memorizing it.

"I'm done," he said. "Any idea where it leads to?"

"Matters of the gods are beyond the understanding of someone like me. How strong are you, Sylvester Maximilian?" King Gargamon asked, wondering how this young man could be the one.

"Stronger than any Supreme Wizards to have existed," Sylvester bluntly answered. "Before you ask, I'm almost twenty-eight years old."

"Haha, then it makes sense." A bellowing laughter echoed from the ancient King's mouth as his form slowly started to fade away. "Farewell, the one named ten thousand years ago. May you succeed—May you write your legend with your might."

Sylvester nodded and took his seat again, pondering deeply on what had just happened. 'If the demons are this advanced, Lord Two's words shouldn't be nonsense. But if the monarch of the Demon World wishes to form a partnership, she must have discovered the two gods. But that begs the question, why this periodic war?'

"Aaaaah! What happened to me? Did I fall asleep?"

Just then, Prince Castell woke up with a roaring yawn and slammed some food into his mouth. Soon after him, Bajj woke up, and finally, Miraj.

"You did well, Prince Castell. I've received the message you came to give me." Sylvester thanked him and silently spoke with Gabriel to make sure panic didn't spread. "It seems that the ancient spell you recited was a secret message for me, left by your ancestors. You can return home now, you have fulfilled your destiny."

"What? So soon? But I came to win fame and respect, to spread the name of the giants across the world," Castell complained like a kid.

"How old are you?"

"Eleven years and five months old."

'What in the Solis' name?! He looks like a fully grown giant already.' Sylvester amusedly stared at the tall boy. 'Ah, a ripe age to be brainwashed. Thank you, King of Giants. Your future generations will thank me for this.'

"In that case, why don't you go to the School of Dawn? We teach everything there; perhaps you can find something that suits you and then rise to become the best in it. World famous, as you desire." Sylvester threw out the juicy bait. "I'm sure your father would like it if you could learn about this side of the world. Much has changed since your Kingdom closed its borders."

"But I'm a warrio—"

Sylvester interrupted him right there. "The headmaster of the school is a Grand Wizard; at the same time, we have a peak Platinum Knight. We also have two Supreme Wizards whom you can spar with at any time and see where you stand."

Excitement washed over Prince Castell's face. He let go of the spoon and cleaned his face, grinning with something cooking in his thick head. "In that case, I want to check where I stand right away. Human Pope! I challenge you to a duel!"

"..."

Pa!

Castell's companion, Eagle Bajj, slammed her feathery wing on her face. "Just when I thought you can't do something even dumber… Oh dear, may the gods have mercy on your thick bones."

Sylvester chuckled and stood up. "Why battle when we can simply measure each other's strength with a simple arm-

wrestling match?"

"Ooooh! That's my favorite game! Let's do that, Human Pope."

Sylvester shrugged and waved his hand, using levitation as well as Green Magic at the same time, to modify the shape of the table. He shrunk it so it was sturdier and small enough for both of them.

"Alright, which hand?" Sylvester looked like a midget before the giant boy, whose fist alone was bigger than Sylvester's entire face and chest combined. But this was one of the instances where size didn't matter.

Castell quickly rested his right elbow on the table. "Right!"

"Cas, you still have time to back out. He's the ruler of more than half of the world—it's insane to even think you can defeat him." Bajj tried to be the voice of reason. "Your father will be angry."

"We'll never know if we never try, and who will tell Father?" Castell was too excited and lived in the moment. "I'm ready, Human Pope."

Sylvester made a magical platform for his elbow so he could clasp the palm with his. In fact, his entire fist and wrist vanished inside Castell's grasp.

"Bajj, will you please count till three?" Sylvester asked the magical eagle with respect.

"Of course—One, two, three!"

BOOM!

What happened was as Bajj had expected. But how it happened was beyond her expectations. As soon as she counted to three, she lost sight of their arms and, soon, lost the sight of Castell as well.

A massive cloud of dust spread everywhere, followed by the noise of cracking and breaking bricks and, finally, a booming splash in the water. It took some time for the dust to settle and for her to see what had actually happened.

Her eyes nearly fell out. There was a gaping hole in the side of the Pope's Palace, so wide that she could see many floors below, etching outwards, and eventually towards the outside garden. There, a wide canal had formed, created from the brute strength in which Castell was thrown away, finally landing in the seawater with such intensity that the splash created huge rainbows in the sky.

Crack!

"Oh dear." Sylvester stared at his palm as if he was disappointed. "I still haven't gotten used to controlling this strength. Ah, Gabriel will cry rivers. Better fix all this destruction."

Bajj, who was already baffled at the madness, now lost her breath as Sylvester just waved his arms around, and matter formed out of thin air, fixing the wide hole and destruction spanning many floors in the building.

"Kaw!" Bajj almost forgot she was an eagle, not a crow. "I mean… Forgive us, Your Holiness. Castell may look big, but he's still a child. He's just too competitive and never found a match."

"No worries, little friend." Sylvester smiled like he should, as the warm and loving Pope. "This much is expected from a strong kid like him. In fact, I know a grown man who acts like him."

"Oh… must have fallen on his head when he was young," Bajj quipped, a habit of hers. "I… I mean…"

"No, I think you're right," Sylvester hummed in agreement. "Go and check on your friend now. Bring him to my office afterward."

…

Maximilia City, Royal Castle

Sniff sniff!

"I… I smell something," Felix muttered while sitting in a massive royal library, on a comfortable couch beside a fireplace. "Is… Is one of those bastards badmouthing me?"

Thud!

"Stop finding excuses and just study, Felix." Looking as beautiful as always, Isabella arrived with a stack of ten books in her arms and sat beside him. "You need to finish learning all this."

"Fuck no!" Felix jumped to his feet, annoyed. "I'm a peak Knight, a man of sword and blades, Bella. I speak with my weapon… I am the bringer of justice, a—"

Isabella glared at him and easily shut him up. So was the angry gaze of a wife. "Felix, we are going to be parents very soon. I don't want them to turn out to be brutes, so we must study and be their role models. Mathematics, Science, Geography, Poetry; we must know everything to a degree."

Felix sighed and slumped back in his seat before wrapping one arm around his wife's shoulder and pulling her closer. It was the coziest feeling he knew, and he absolutely loved it. Sitting in comfortable clothes before a fireplace with the woman he dearly loved.

"We'll just make Max teach them. He's the perfect brute with a brain," Felix suggested.

"Hehe… that's true." She chuckled and placed her head on his chest, hugging him from the side, and listened to his heartbeat. "When are you planning on telling him about my pregnancy? I'm sure he'll be extremely happy."

"I plan to surprise him." Felix planned, smiling like a man content with life. "Let's wait until he returns from the other world."

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