The last time Sylvester was there, he was a mere Grand Wizard. But now, things had changed. Not only was he a Supreme Wizard, but he also had the backing of Elder Magic and training from Nehilius. This meant that he wasn't going to be mentally affected by the Demon as he was before, and his control over the light element was also much higher.
'Good thing I know the name of the Demon, at least. The ritual will be much easier this time.' Sylvester muttered and reinforced the orb of white light that hovered over his palm. It was small, as big as his fist, but it held power most wizards couldn't imagine. Reinforced with a faint, almost invisible, circulating sphere of elder runes over the orb, the solarium in the air and the solarium that the Demon possessed was going to be its fuel.
"If even the three of us can't defeat this Demon together, we should start looking for a new world to live in," Sylvester ominously said and released the orb of white light towards the almost black swamp.
Rathagun and Malisius watched the bright orb slowly go down. They expected nothing much from an attack of that size, but in their hearts, they knew this wasn't something normal. Anything from a Supreme Wizard would never be normal.
Shhhh…!
The orb of light slowly reached the swamp's surface. The sizzling sound of the water being scorched and evaporated began to resonate, and eventually, the thick, gooey mass of the swamp caught fire. The orb slowly dug in and vanished. It started forming a blob underneath the surface.
"I suggest we move a little further from the orb," Sylvester advised and stepped away on his Light Tiles. "King Rathagun, when the blast occurs, I need you to hold all the earth elemental mass that will rise in the air and throw it away in the distance outside the edge of the swamp. King Malisius, any residual water needs to be vaporized—From today, Beastaria shall know this region not as Divider Swamp but as Divider Canyon."
The two Beastaria monarchs watched the surface of the swamp in anticipation. Of course, they could do what Sylvester had asked them. However, they didn't want to reply to his orders, not wanting to display themselves as his subordinates.
Clap!
However, right then, Sylvester clapped his palms together and closed his eyes before he started singing a hymn. A massive, meter-wide bright halo of golden light formed behind his head, and his body radiated warmth akin to nothing the two kings had experienced before.
In reality, Sylvester had no need to use the hymns at that moment. But he still did it because the halo had proven to be quite effective in making others feel inferior to him. They usually made the other person feel that he was heavenly blessed, no matter what God they followed. And on this occasion, he wanted to influence Malisius' mind.
♫In this land defiled by the devil.
Heed, leave your possessed vessel.
By the grace of light, you shan't rebel.
For in your death, today we shall revel.♫
Boom!
Right then, a deafening, blazing sound of something cutting the air echoed in the vicinity. Sylvester ignored it, but Rathagun and Malisius looked around themselves. Far in the distance, or close to them, the entire border surrounding the Divider Swamp began to shine with golden light and slowly formed itself into a massive, translucent golden wall that seemed to be made of glass. It eventually began to curve after reaching a height and formed a gigantic dome all above the Divider Swamp.
Sylvester looked at the vigilant faces of the two monarchs, "Now, I believe the Demon won't be able to escape or replenish its solarium as it fights us."
"What is the meaning of this?" Malisius roared with his dragon voice. "You've trapped us here with the Demon. Do you plan to kill us here?"
Sylvester smiled and shook his head, looking like a saint with the halo still behind his head. "The Demon is trapped here with us, King Malisius, not the other way around. Don't you have faith in your own abilities?"
He hit the right nerves at the right time. Malisius didn't speak further and prepared himself for battle.
Right below them, a massive blob was forming in the distance, rising like a hill. It was from the effects of Sylvester's magical orb, and they had no idea what to expect from it.
"Prepare yourself," Sylvester warned, creating his old and trusted sword made of solidified light magic. It was large in size, at least three metres in length and twenty centimetres in width. However, he didn't bother giving it a colour and texture, as it didn't matter.
Just then, a blinding light flashed down on the swamp. It was so sharp that it reached them before the sound could.
Boom!
A little later, they felt a strong gust of wind pass through, and they heard a boom. The light also began to dim a little and revealed a massive explosion still rising in the sky with a mushroom cloud made of steam and dust.
"King Rathagun!"
"On it!" Rathagun shouted back and raised his right hand horizontally away from himself. With that, he used his control over the Earth elemental magic and started to gather all the thrown-out matter from the swamp into a giant round ball.
Without asking, Malisius also did his job and incinerated all the water or steam until nothing was left. His palms and mouth spewed fire and covered almost the majority of the swamp with his crimson flames.
It was a point to be remembered that the size of Divider Swamp was similar to the Kingdom of Riveria or Highland, and they were covering that massive size of land under the influence of their magic without falling unconscious from solarium depletion. This was why the Supreme Wizards were considered kingdom-ending entities, and also why two Supreme Wizards would always avoid battling each other, since it always meant massive destruction for both sides.
In no time, a majority of the Divider Swamp ceased to exist. However, there was still much to be covered, so Sylvester created more solarium orbs and threw them down to sink into the swamp. They also exploded soon enough, destroying the hiding spot of the creature he had seen.
"Wraaaa!"
"There!" Sylvester heard the groaning roar and threw more orbs towards it.
But sadly, the swamp was too deep, and the creature was swift. So they had to put all their focus on removing the water and the matter first. It took them a few minutes, but as they hovered far in the sky, they felt safe.
"Maxy!" Miraj suddenly exclaimed from Sylvester's shoulder. "Look! Your spear is there!"
Sylvester followed Miraj's paw with his gaze and noticed the shining tip of the spear protruding out of the ground. However, he couldn't go and get it yet.
"Graaaaa!"
They watched as the creature finally became visible to their eyes since Malisius got rid of all the steam and mist covering the place. The thing was still as terrifying as Sylvester remembered. It was humongous, with countless sharp teeth-covered tentacles that were tens of metres in thickness and hundreds of metres in length, spread around the entire Divider Swamp—finally visible as the swamp was obliterated. The tentacles also had tiny humanoid arms formed in multiple clusters all over, as if they were little blisters.
Finally, the three Supreme Wizards found out how the creature took over the land under its influence—the tentacles were quite literally spreading around, having already reached Merkins' lake.
However, what was at the centre of the tentacles was more terrifying. The body of the Demon appeared with countless round eyes and a gaping wide jaw, open with layers upon layers of sharp teeth, going deeper and deeper. Inside the middle of the mouth was also a floating single-eye.
Covered in mud and dark in its colour, the creature sent shivers down the bodies of the three men. They didn't feel like going down there as the thing was bigger than even all the dragons combined.
'This is more scary than I remember. The darkness and the mist had saved me from this sight that time,' Sylvester felt sweat form on his forehead.
"Disgusting!" Rathagun scowled and spat.
Woosh!
Just then, a few shadows appeared from the creature's gigantic pit-like mouth. The figures were dark in colour but had variations in their sizes and shapes. They all had wings and floated towards them at a speed similar to that of a Grand Wizard.
'Death!' Sylvester smelled the scent. It wasn't the scent of his own death but instead came from the nature of the creatures. Instantly, he remembered the other times he had smelled a similar thing and knew what they were.
"Bloodlings!" Sylvester shouted. "The Demon has countless Bloodlings under its control!"
Woosh!
Sylvester elongated his sword further and swung it with lightning speed. In one hit, he split the flying Bloodling in half, burning it away in ashes. The other Supreme Wizards did the same, one using fire magic and the other using his sword, which seemed to have light magic properties.
But they couldn't rest as they noticed countless more Bloodlings flying out of the Demon's mouth from below. It looked like a swarm of darkness, spreading around slowly and trying to surround them from all directions.
"Weak!" Malisius scoffed and roared with blazing fire from his mouth.
"This isn't right!" Sylvester muttered and used his sword to keep a distance from the Bloodlings. "Why is it using useless Bloodlings?"
Nevertheless, Sylvester used his magic to the fullest. The halo behind his head made sure the Bloodlings didn't come too close to him. But he then noticed Malisius and Rathagun going further and further away from him.
"Ugh! It's a distraction meant to divide us!" Sylvester realized and roared towards the two.
Woosh!
However, he seemed to be a little late as one of the gigantic tentacles swung from the ground and aimed to strike them. Rathagun dodged, but Malisius, so engrossed in killing Bloodlings, failed to escape in time.
"Aaargh!" Malisius groaned in pain as one of the sharp teeth on the dark tentacle brushed past the red scales on his arm, gashing him deeply despite his strength.
The two monarchs learned their lesson and retreated to Sylvester.
"Show me your arm," Sylvester told the dragon.
Malisius shrugged, "It's a mere scratch."
"Poisoned with dark element," Sylvester claimed and pointed, "Look at the wound. It's turning black, and the rotten puss is already oozing out. You will die from this… unknown poison."
Slash!
Malisius extended the claws in his other hand and, in a surprising move, chopped away his entire arm that was wounded. He didn't even react with a flinch and returned to blowing flames on the incoming Bloodlings. "It shall grow within a minute!"
"..."
Sylvester sighed and let the man be. In his mind, various scenarios played out. He stared down at the giant demonic creature with tentacles.
'Is this it? Is this Zama'tar?' He questioned himself and looked further around at the entire swamp.
"I think… This entire swamp field is the Demon's Supreme Void!" Sylvester made an observation, a very dangerous one. "This void seems to be influencing the surroundings and turning things darker in nature, ruining the habitats—All these Bloodlings are none but people of Beastaria!"
Malisius and Rathagun frowned upon hearing him and retreated towards him until their backs touched each other.
"Let's use our Supreme Voids then," Malisius suggested.
"I agree." Rathagun was onboard.
"No," Sylvester still couldn't help looking at the Demon on the ground. "If my understanding of this Demon is correct—The thing with tentacles we see isn't the actual Demon, but its mere pet!"
Boom!
"Hahaha… Correct!"
After an unknown sonic boom, Loud laughs erupted in the surroundings, everywhere, no matter the direction. It was a muffled, heavy voice with a hint of evil.
"They're retreating!" Malisius noted as the Bloodlings stopped attacking.
Finally, with some rest, the three looked down at the tentacle creature. Its wide, round mouth was shining brightly red now. In front of that light was a humanoid figure, only appearing as a shadow with horns on its head.
"Three Supreme Wizards to fight a single me?" The shadow slowly became more and more defined, revealing its yellow, shining eyes. "I'm flattered, creatures of Artius!"
