Throne of Magical Arcana

In the Holy City, the Bright Hall was in the highest place, and the Hall of Scriptures of the Saint Biso Seminary was only second to it.

This building looked like the arena in the Sank Kingdom. It was flat at the center with a magnificent podium. There was not a dome. The seats around rose in circles to dozens of meters high.

Whoever stood at the center would see nothing but the countless people from the auditorium that were staring at him, and the pressure could be enormous. The sun in the high sky shone with a golden brilliance, as if God were watching the place, adding to the sacredness in the environment.

At the sunset, the remaining radiance of the sun beamed into the hall and covered everything in brilliant gold.

In the dazzling gold, however, the whole hall kept a weird silence, as if something horrifying was brewing and was about to break out.

“You are the incarnation of the Lord of Hell and the greatest devil. You stole the Lord’s power in the world while He is asleep!”

His words were still echoing in the hall and everyone’s heart, so deafening that everybody felt like they were dreaming.

Ever since the establishment of the Church, has anyone questioned the pope in public?

Ever since the establishment of the Church, has anyone disrespect the pope?

Ever since the establishment of the Church, has anyone accused the pope of being the incarnation of devils?

Can devils perform “God’s Arrival” and lead us to defeat sorcerers, dark creatures, and the heretical churches?

Feeling absurd and ridiculous, all the clerics were stunned. They looked at the pope, who was grim on the podium, and Saint Ivan down below, who seemed to be covered in a golden coat!

What’s going on?

Why is the strongest and most pious saint opposing the pope?

Is he not scared of “Excommunication”?

At this moment, some said aloud, “According to the Cannon, the Lord teaches us not to admire or worship idols. So, we only establish crosses. However, you have publicly announced that you are the incarnation of the Lord and His spokesperson in the world. You ask us to admire and obey you. That’s only something that devils do!”

Another… Another person is accusing His Holiness to be an incarnation of the Lord of Hell!

The clerics in the hall were stunned. They then discovered that Saint Felix was walking toward Saint Ivan from the back. Then, they saw that Aleksey and Uriel, another two saints, left the crowd, followed by seven saint cardinals!

So many saints and sirs support Saint Ivan?

Is… Is His Holiness really the greatest devil?

“This is absurd! His Holiness has just heavily wounded the Lord of Hell with God’s Arrival and driven him back to hell!” Saint Gwent attacked the traitors angrily.

“How can he convince other people otherwise?” Ivan declared resolutely.

Pope Gregory pressed his left hand and stopped the other saints from arguing with Ivan. He raised his platinum staff and said solemnly, “Whoever betrays the Lord will be deprived of his glory and caged in hell forever!”

Words were useless. The grace of the Lord would prove everything.

The golden brilliance suddenly turned ivory, sacred, and holy. The holy light on Ivan, Felix, and the rest of them flew out and dispersed in the sky.

“Excommunication?”

“Excommunication!”

All the clerics shivered. That was the best proof of the pope’s identity. If he were not the Lord’s Executor on earth, why on earth could he deprive the other clerics of the Lord’s blessing?

Saint Ivan must’ve been deceived!

However, they sincerely hoped that the pope would only punish the leaders. After all, it would be a heavy loss for the Saint Truth if so many saints and saint cardinals were lost.

Suddenly, Ivan opened his arms, as if he were embracing the people and the world.

Countless tiny angels surfaced around him, singing and praising him in hallowed hymns.

A giant hole was torn apart in the void up above, and the projection of Mountain Paradise appeared. Spots of holy light flew out and gathered into a pair of sacred, inviolable, lustrous wings!

“Excommunication” was eliminated, and Ivan’s vibe rose, giving the clerics feelings that were to the pope’s vibe.

“Devil! Open your eyes. This is the blessing of the Lord!” Ivan announced. “Our divine powers came from the Lord, and nobody except the Lord can take it back. Only devils will try to pretend that they can deprive us of our abilities. That’s the evidence that he’s stealing the Lord’s power!”

Although it was highly illogical, the clerics couldn’t tell it now. Even the pope’s supporters were astounded. Excommunication did not work! Ivan was close to the demigod level!

Could it be…

They were unwilling and dared not to think further!

“Your power is from the devils. Only devils are immune to Excommunication!” Gregory said before he raised the platinum staff.

Everybody was alarmed. Was it God’s Arrival?

At this moment, the sun was disappearing, and a silver moon seemed to be rising in the sky!

After a brief hesitation, Gregory performed “Light of Judgment”.

Ivan did not intend to fight the pope in the middle of so many saints and saint cardinals. The wings made of godhood on his back flapped quickly and blocked “Light of Judgment”, and the rebels activated the one-time legendary items they prepared in advance, vanishing from the spot.

Only by a public barrage could the pope’s years of intimidation be broken so that they could better develop in the future. They had to take the risk!

Not expecting that they would flee immediately, Gregory was one step late. He ordered with an awful face, “Ivan, Felix… have been corrupted by the devils and betrayed the Lord. All the grand cardinals, except for those who are watching over local parishes, will follow me to purge them in the north!”

In the Cathedrals of Seraphs in Olenburg, capital of the Schachran Empire…

Expressionless knights broke into the church. Under the leadership of some clerics, they began to arrest the so-called “heretics”.

Ivan, Felix, and the rest of them, after reaching the cathedral through the transmission circle, immediately changed its structure in case the pope came directly.

“Did everything go well?” In the cathedral, a man wearing a crown asked solemnly. He was as brawny as a bear and had a funny nose.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Felix answered on behalf of Ivan.

The man was Rostov II, a level-three legendary knight and the current emperor of the Schachran Empire.

Smiling, he bowed at Ivan respectfully. “Please be crowned as the pontiff, Saint Ivan!”

“Please be crowned as the pontiff, Saint Ivan!” Felix and the rest of them also paid respects.

His face unchanged, Ivan raised his right hand and said solemnly, “I shall eliminate the heretics and restore the glory of the Lord with the pious believers!”

In 425 of the Saint Calendar, during the Highest Conference of the Church, the grand cardinals including Ivan revolted, resulting in the schism of the Church.

……

In the Dark Mountain Range, a night watcher checked the time. After confirming that the Highest Conference of the Church should be over, he strode to the headquarters of the Dark Congress that had just been established.

“I am an emissary from the New Saint Truth. I would like to meet Danisos and Dracula.”

……

When the Highest Conference of the Church was held, Douglas, sensing something, invited “Family of Sorcerers”, “Supreme Soul”, “Cabin of Palmeira”, “Will of Elements”, “Shadow Singers”, and other forces for a meeting.

Outside of the magic tower, the sorcerers below the level of archmage talked and exchanged items. Inside the magic tower, the legendary sorcerers and the archmages discussed the situation.

At this moment, Douglas changed his face. His demiplane appeared behind his back and shivered.

“According to the intelligence from hell, Saint Ivan accused the pope to be an incarnation of devils during the Highest Conference of the Church and established a New Saint Truth in the Schachran Empire. He has the support of three saints, seven saint cardinals, all the grand cardinals in the north, and all the legendary knights in the northern kingdoms.” Douglas soon calmed down and told everybody the news.

“What?” The news was so astonishing that many sorcerers brought out their crystal balls to confirm it.

Since nobody was covering it, they reached a conclusion very successfully and looked at Douglas in excitement.

Douglas stood up. “Hathaway, you will talk to King Hoffenberg and ask him to fulfill his promise. On the other hand, we will stand up openly according to the deal to show them that they are not supporting rats who only dare to lurk in the dark.”

“Kalolla, you will be responsible for the north coastline. Just stick to our grounds. There is no need to destroy the cathedral in this place.” Douglas looked at the Lord of Frigidity.

“Alright.” The Lord of Frigidity was not dissatisfied with Douglas giving the command. The man’s capabilities, talents, and achievements in arcana had deeply convinced him.

“We will be responsible for Colette,” Congus said voluntarily.

The Eye of Curse did not stay behind. “I’m going to the Duchy of Calais with Erica.”

“I need to go to Cocus,” Vicente said indifferently.

Knowing his past, Douglas nodded. “Then, you can swap with Erica.”

Then, he looked at Amanata, the Master of Shadows. “Would you like to go to Brianne?”

Amanata nodded his head as acknowledgment.

“The Congress will take care of Holm.” Douglas tightened his collar. “Now, we have to mobilize everyone.”

Clang!

The ringing of the bell from the magic tower gathered all the sorcerers around. They saw that the legends walked out in the middle of the archmages.

Standing on the stairs, Douglas described the news first. The sorcerers down below were too excited to believe it.

“This is our opportunity, and we have to seize it. After the Church gets the situation under control, perhaps we will never have such a good chance,” Douglas said honestly. “However, even if we succeed this time, it doesn’t mean that we will immediately have safety.

“On the contrary, to win the support of the nobles, we have to stand out and fight the Church openly. So, our success this time will only be the first step to reforge the glory of sorcerers. Every new step in the future will come with even greater dangers. Many of you may not live to see our real renaissance.”

All the sorcerers on the spot were caught in silence.

Douglas went on. “However, if we don’t stand out, we will only be paralyzed by the temporary stability in the dark and gradually swallowed by it. Our children, our students, and all the future generations will never live in freedom and peace. They will never get to learn arcana and magic without external oppression.”

The sorcerers felt the same. Many of them had never experienced the splendor of the Magic Empires. Ever since they were born, they had been hiding like rats in a gutter. They did not want their offspring to live such a life again.

Taking a deep breath, Douglas waved his arms hard and said, “The path to brightness is destined to be one paved with our bones and blood, but we do not have a choice!

“Although we are struggling in the darkness, we must never forget to pursue the light!”