In the Bright Hall in the Holy City …
By the time Philibell arrived, the rest of the Grand Cardinals who were free had already arrived. Benedict III was standing on the stairs with a platinum staff in his hand, with an enormous, holy cross behind his back.
"I've summoned you here today because I have a secret mission for you. It concerns the glory of the Lord, the survival of the Church, and your future," Benedict III said solemnly. His slightly turbid eyes were deep and tranquil at this moment.
Melmax, the Holy Avenger, stepped forward and asked, "Your Holiness, what mission is it that requires more than half of the Grand Cardinals to accomplish?"
He hadn't fully recovered from the wounds he suffered when Douglas became a demigod, so he was rather cautious about the mission.
Benedict III did not give a direct answer. Instead, he looked at the glass window near the dome of the Bright Hall. The dazzling sunlight at noon shone in through the colorful glass, illuminating the floor with colorful illusions.
"Douglas' advancement into a demigod not only gave the sorcerers confidence but also allowed them to see the bright future of arcana and magic. As long as the path is not hopeless, it will be barely tempted again. Also, it has significantly changed the situation of the world, the balance of power, and our estimation of the future." Benedict III repeated the situation in a low voice, "Whether or not we are willing to admit it, one demigod, four top legends, and as many legendary experts as we do are all there. The Congress of Magic is already strong enough to compete with us in a head-on confrontation."
"In the meantime, we have to face the heresy in the north, the scourge of Maltimus in the Boundless Ocean, and the oppression of the evil god 'Silver Moon' in the Dark Mountain Range. It is very difficult."
None of the Grand Cardinals said anything, because it was the obvious truth. Although the Lord of Hell and the heresy in the north were also targets that the Congress of Magic had to take precautions against, the Dark Congress and the Elven Court were at least their allies right now, and their side was almost isolated.
It seemed to be an inevitable process for every ruling force when they went from prosperity to decline. Because their dominance in the past had left too deep an impression on other organizations, and there was an unresolvable personal grudge between them. Therefore, if they did not make concessions and cooperate, other forces could easily reach an agreement to overthrow the original ruling force before they fought each other, just like the ancient Magic Empire years ago!
Benedict III's old and heavy voice echoed in the Bright Hall, "Although I have told you the transformation method of preliminary immortality and the mysteries of condensing godhood with the power of faith granted by the Lord, and you must've gained something over the years and improved your strength, the development of arcana in the past twenty years and the expansion of the Congress of Magic as a result have forced us to face a problem."
At this point, he paused for a moment and looked at all the Grand Cardinals present without any emotion in his eyes.
Saint Maria, Saint Kati, Philibell, Astira and the other Grand Cardinals slightly lowered their heads, as if they were avoiding the pope's eyes. Over the past few years, the emergence of more and more cults in the area under the control of the Church was partly due to their 'contributions'.
Benedict III moved his eyes back and continued, "According to the current trend, before your strength is fundamentally improved, before the number of new top legends catches up with that of the Congress of Magic, and before new demigods are born, the overall strength of the Congress of Magic will definitely overwhelm us and divide us step by step, just like how we destroyed the Magic Empire years ago."
"I'm not scaring you with the worst possibility. You should know very well that most sorcerers of the Congress of Magic haven't really digested the achievements of arcana in the past twenty years. After all, the expansion of strength will lag behind the theoretical development by ten years. You know very well how strong you will be in ten years."
After hearing Benedict III's words, Astira, the Grand Cardinal, asked in confusion, "Your Holiness, your description of the decline and decline of strength is very far-sighted. You have analyzed our predicament very clearly. However, the most obvious and fundamental difference between the situation we are faced with right now and the ancient Magic Empire years ago is that we have you, the spokesperson of the Lord on earth and the strongest demigod, while the strongest in the ancient Magic Empire years ago was only at the peak of legendary."
"The existence of demigods is a deterrence and a balance. As long as the demigods are not destroyed, it will be difficult for the forces they belong to to to be completely eliminated, because the demigods will no longer have any concerns and destroy the enemy's foundation. Therefore, the demigods who can destroy each other's forces are exactly the guarantee of peace, just like how we attacked the vampires. I believe that the Congress of Magic must've taken that into consideration. Perhaps the current confrontation across the Storm Strait will last forever, except that we will gradually nibble up the forces that do not have demigods."
Saint Kati also stood out and said, "Astira is quite right. The unkillable demigods will keep the current situation going. Also, most importantly of all, Your Holiness is the strongest demigod who can perform 'God's Arrival'. Neither the Silver Moon, the Lord of Hell, nor Douglas can resist it. It will ensure the position of the Church as much as possible so that they will not dare to attack randomly."
"After we are all stronger, we will be able to awaken the 'Lord'. Under the brilliance of the true god, all evils will be completely melted."
He stated his expectation. As to whether or not the God of Truth could be awakened, and in what way, that was another matter.
Benedict III sighed softly. "Demigods are not really immortal. At the very least, I have a lot of hidden problems myself. If they can grasp those problems, even if they cannot completely kill me, they will be able to imprison me like I imprisoned the monster. Also, with 'God's Arrival', I will certainly be the primary target of Douglas, the Silver Moon, and Maltimus. It is possible that they will attack together. How will we face them by then?"
Inside the Bright Hall, none of the Grand Cardinals replied for a moment. The atmosphere was rather oppressive. Although the danger was still far away, it seemed that the worst possibility would happen sooner or later based on His Holiness' analysis.
"Your Holiness, what is the mission that you are going to give us?" Melmax suddenly broke the silence. "Is it related to the predicament in the future?"
Benedict III slowly raised his platinum staff, his face solemn.
Seeing that, all the Grand Cardinals immediately fell on their knees and drew crosses on their chests, praying devoutly, "Only Truth lives forever!"
It was the gesture of announcing the Lord's "oracle"!
"The Lord has sent an oracle and told me how to resolve the problems." Benedict III's tone was full of "sincere gratitude". "The reason why the negative feelings can't be controlled and separated after the 'container' is because the power of negative feelings is not equal to the power of faith during the last step of breaking into the demigod level."
Saint Maria frowned subconsciously. "Not equal? Both of them are not 'real' mental powers. How can they not be equal? "
She suddenly realized what was going on. "Your Holiness, I am not questioning the Lord, but I hope that you can satisfy my ignorance."
"It's because 'Mountain Paradise' is behind the power of faith. The projection of 'Mountain Paradise' will appear when one is breaking into the demigod level, and the power of negative feelings will only condense the seven primeval devils. How can they be equal to 'Mountain Paradise'? Therefore, the balance is lost, and the problems are left, "Benedict III explained emotionlessly.
"Then, how can they be equal?" Philibell asked. That was the question that concerned them the most, because they believed that they would reach that step sooner or later.
Benedict III put down the platinum staff and nodded his head. "More primeval devils are needed. They are needed to 'condense' a primeval hell, and that requires your cooperation. I cannot accomplish it on my own. As a matter of fact, it fits the core of our path to becoming a demigod. Gather the power of the masses and turn the weak into the strong."
For some reason, when they heard what Benedict III said, Philibell and the other Grand Cardinals thought of Lucien's paper and the prediction in it — the evolution of the weak observer into the strong observer!
"Your Holiness, what should we do?" Saint Kati asked. They had to ask every step of the process. After all, it involved them. What if the attempt failed and the primeval devils went out of control?
"According to my speculation, such 'condensation' will cause corresponding changes in the primeval hell. After that …" Benedict III told them his plan without holding anything back.
After identifying the key points carefully, the Grand Cardinals agreed with their own plans and left the Bright Hall to make preparations.
After they were all gone from the Bright Hall, Benedict III was still standing there, looking at the door gloomily.
… …
"'Envy'?" Hardly had Lucien opened his mouth when "Natasha" and "Sylvia" stood up. One of them stood in front of the other without caring that she was naked, and the other leaned against the other shyly.
"I'm sorry. Although you are very, very good, it is still her that I love." "Natasha" looked at Lucien fearlessly.
Lucien's lips twitched because of the familiar lines. Then, he smiled and said, "It's useless. If I don't have that much confidence, how am I qualified to talk about love? Please try something else, Devil of Jealousy. "
While talking, Lucien was already prepared, because Indulgence might be hiding in the dark. It would be dangerous if the two of them attacked together.
"Haha." "Natasha" and "Sylvia" giggled at the same time, which was entirely different from their original voices. "What a boring man."
In their laughter, their bodies collapsed as if they had turned into dust.
Lucien had thought that the two primeval devils would attack, but they simply left.
Looking around, Lucien saw his own reflection in the full-length mirror on the side of the bed. He was wearing a black double-breasted suit, a top hat and black leather shoes. However, the familiar handsome face was not wearing a smile, but a look of disdain.
"Lucien" in the mirror suddenly spoke. He sneered, "Do you know that what you are doing right now is called arrogance? Because of your strength at the peak of legendary and your many powerful and weird spells, you despise the seven primeval devils and think that they cannot pose any threat. You are mocking them in your heart for trying to influence your feelings.
"Your idea is the purest arrogance. Arrogance is never an emotion. So, I was born in your heart to make you face yourself. You can never kill me or defeat me, because I am you!"
Step by step, it walked out of the mirror, its black leather shoes stepping on the brownish-yellow carpet.
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