Sylvester felt greatly angry when he heard about what happened with Markus. The tragedy was far more devastating than they had thought, and in the end, just imagining the hopelessness and despair Markus must have felt over the years filled Sylvester and Felix with rage. After spending years in training, living an optimistic life, Marcus had suddenly found the Church becoming the greatest evil in his life.
"The Church has played with our lives again and again," Sylvester muttered, sounding very disappointed. "Each of us has been betrayed in one way or another. They placed the Shadow Knight behind me, and Saint Seer tried to kill Mum. They were the reason Augustus died, and I just met Louis and Griffin. They also feared for their families after the new Pope came to power."
Felix wholeheartedly agreed with him and finished eating his food despite losing his appetite. He just did it to get some energy back. "Max—I hope you turn out to be the greatest thing to happen to the Church. I pray you won't be corrupted by power... I hope you won't make more Marcuses, Augustuses, or Felixes."
"I've learned my lessons, Felix," Sylvester assured his friend. "I've not forgotten my promise to that young Shane… We will make the world safe for young or old, child or not, man or woman. But first, we need to clean the house. Tell me, what did they do to you in this reeducation? How many more victims are there?"
Felix set the plates aside and leaned his back against the tree trunk. "The reeducation is just a term they use to disguise what they actually do—forced indoctrination and slavery. Their goal isn't to educate but to shatter one's mind and will, and rebuild it anew. For me, it all began after I arrived in the Holy Land with the severed heads of the knights who took part in the conspiracy to murder you.
"But the Pope was furious, and they immediately subjected me to reeducation. It lasted for a year, and during that time, we endured all kinds of torture. To destroy our self-respect, they ensured we never had clothes to wear. To destroy our hopes of a better future, they castrated us. To destroy our minds, they burned us, stabbed us, skinned us, or forced us to stay awake for days.
"It was an inhumane and unholy place to be. Everyone screamed and begged for death, but the tormentors would only laugh. When it started, I was with nine other men, and by the end of the first month, I was the only one left—It only got worse from there as I became their sole focus of torture.
"I was forced to read holy books, your hymns, while standing in fire or stuck in ice. Forced to practice swordsmanship against armored knights while I remained naked. They fed me strange medicines, Solarium Crystals, and unknown rations. Never was I allowed to speak or even grunt, as any sound would result in even more torture. But this only went on for the first three months."
Sylvester was taken aback. "All that was just the first three months? You were there for a year; what else did they do?"
"Worse," Felix replied. "Normally, wizards won't have burn marks like I do on my face, do they, Max?"
"No, our bodies can heal such wounds," Sylvester affirmed.
"So they used poisonous acids," Felix revealed and made a small incision on his cheek. "My blood is warm enough to evaporate rainwater. It's because they experimented on me since it was a rare opportunity; they didn't usually get subjects with the talent of a Platinum Knight. Their goal was to make me physically strong, unlocking the so-called secrets of the body.
"Subjected to poison, my blood slowly turned poisonous. My skin underwent a change, and I became like this… That's why I don't think you can heal me, Max."
Sylvester scoffed and gently knocked Felix on the head. "I surely can. Don't take Elder Magic as a joke, and even if I can't do it now, I can almost guarantee that you can be healed once I become a Supreme Wizard. Be it your face or your balls—it'll all be reversed."
"..."
"I… I'm hopeful for the future, then." Felix muttered, not keen on discussing his lost children. "In any case, after they administered the poison and forced my body to strengthen itself at a higher rate, the pace of my physical progress accelerated. I was able to breach through to the last level of Diamond Knight rank by the end of the year. But I still wasn't ready for their plans—I was meant to be the Church's mighty sword in Beastaria.
"So they fitted this armor onto my body, piece by piece, molding it into my skin until it became a part of my body. Any attack on it would also hurt me, and any loss of its pieces would mean a loss of my flesh. I spent weeks on their surgery table as they fitted this Skygem armor—"
"Wait!" Sylvester suddenly raised his palm. "Did you just say Skygem? You're wearing Skygem armor?!"
Felix couldn't help but smirk a little, knowing Sylvester had been collecting Skygems for years to make armor. "Apparently, the Church has a few of them in complete form in their treasury. The Pope only gave me one because he felt guilty about his hasty decision of putting me through reeducation."
"Doesn't absolve him from causing you this pain, or Marcus," Sylvester exclaimed, having no feelings of warmth for the man anymore. "You suffered a lot, brother… I should've done better."
"I'm to blame," Felix said, placing his gauntlet on Sylvester's shoulder. "After arriving in Beastaria, I realized how spoiled we were. We were mere nameless characters in a story that you were spearheading—every major mission or task we did was a success because you led it. If not, I have no doubt I would have died long ago. I was lazy back then, taking your presence for granted, and now that I've seen the greater world—I understand I was naive, and it would be even more naive of me to blame you now."
Sylvester just shook his head and embraced Felix firmly in a hug. The boy had grown up into a man, not just in body but also mind. The only bitter thing was that tragedy had forced that wisdom to take form, not good memories.
"Come with me to Deca Imperia. I'll uncover whatever secret is hidden there, and then we'll return to the Holy Land." Sylvester informed him, but in his heart, he had a feeling that things weren't going to be that simple. After all, Saint Scepter wasn't an ordinary man.
Felix chuckled all of a sudden. "Yet again, I can't refuse your suggestions—I trust them too much."
"It's worked all this time," Sylvester said, deciding to speak with Sir Dolorem again and get an update from them. It had been almost a whole night since they last spoke, and he was worried. "I will speak with Sir Dolorem and get his status report. You can close your eyes and rest until morning, Felix."
Felix nodded but didn't shut his eyes. He just stared at Sylvester's face with a look of amusement and elation.
Sylvester closed his eyes and let his Solarium Web spread toward the northeast. He looked for the Solarium Signatures and found them soon enough. "...Sir Dolorem?"
"Lord Bard?!" Sir Dolorem's voice quickly came through, sounding a bit hasty. "We're in a rush right now—The entire Whiskeypeak is in chaos!"
"What happened?" Sylvester questioned, worried for the man.
"The entire Sea of Merkins has turned poisonous!" Sir Dolorem revealed. "The whole population of Merkins is trying to escape the waters and is seeking help from the dwarves. The other species that share their borders with the sea are Orcs and Trolls—they can't go there."
Sylvester knew the map of the entire Beastaria like the back of his hand. The inland sea of the Merkins was in the middle of Beastaria. To their east was the region of dwarves and the grasslands surrounding Deca Imperia. To their west was the land of orcs, trolls, mountains, and… the Divider Swamp.
"It's likely the effect of the demon in the Divider Swamp." Sylvester believed. It was strong enough to affect such a massive area. "What are you doing now?"
"We're leaving, as there's a higher chance of getting caught with so many eyes on us. The dwarves here had a friendly relationship with the Merkins due to the exchange of natural resources, so the dwarves are taking them in." Sir Dolorem revealed, panting a bit. "We're on our way south toward Deca Imperia."
"I will see you there then," Sylvester formulated a plan to meet Sir Dolorem and Dagorith there. "Don't try to enter the main city, and find a place to hide in Old City south of Deca Imperia."
"Understood, Lord Bard… But what about that Demon? Its effects are spreading too fast. If it's able to possess other species and bring about a massive war, there would be a catastrophic loss of life. Sol won't be able to stop it either." Sir Dolorem asked, having imagined the chaos that could ensue.
Sylvester sighed and calmly replied. "We don't need to do anything right now, Sir Dolorem. Let's finish what we came here to do and return home. Until I become the Pope, I'm a nobody."
"But… Won't it be too late by then?" Sir Dolorem questioned. "I fear what would happen if the dragons were to be possessed."
Sylvester remained firm with his decision and hinted at his scheme. "Sir Dolorem, When you wish to build a new castle in place of an old one, what must you do first?"
"D-destroy the old castle." The old knight replied.
"There, you have the answer. I'll see you in the Old City." With that, Sylvester broke the connection and took a calming breath.
He had already learned his lesson. There was no need to physically struggle and battle for every inch of land. Not when the brain could win against most of the brawn.
Thank you for reading. Gifts and GT votes are highly appreciated.
