I Became The Pope, Now What?

The moment Sylvester's Wrath of Heavens and Rathagun's magical arrow of green light touched each other, a blinding light blasted off in all directions. A mix of white and green, the energy produced from their clash was astonishing and fear-striking. 

The crater was already proof of the destruction they had caused, but this was different, as two Supreme Wizards were colliding. The sounds of their battle were heard even inside the most secretive walls of the Kingdom of Giants and the most secluded gardens of Alfia in the far south. 

For those on the ground, it was a situation far worse. Blinded by the sudden rush of light, the elven Elders couldn't move. However, Bloodrain, who was already blind and yet a master, had no problem moving. 

His senses told him all he needed to know, and he pounced on one of the elven Elders who had mistakenly backed further away from the group in the midst of the confusion. 

Woosh!

With a simple strike to the neck, the elven Elder died with his severed head falling towards the group. Bloodrain didn't stop there and changed his position to plan his next surprise move. 

Soon, while the echoes of the two Supreme Wizards clashing still resounded, the blinding light vanished. Once everyone could see, a sense of panic spread among the Elder elves. 

"Elder Houron!" Shouted Elder Ellitran at the top of his lungs. The severed, fear-stricken face of Elder Houron rested beside his feet. 

In the sky, Rathagun paused and glanced downward. He, too, reacted like Ellitran, "Elder Houron! Who killed him?!" 

Bam!

Sylvester elongated his spear rapidly, striking Rathagun on his shoulder armor, breaking it and chipping it away. "That's why they say—Don't pick fights you cannot win." 

"Haaa!" Rathagun roared and charged toward Sylvester. He flew fast and shot a smaller arrow from the magical bow that came out of his body. 

Sylvester deflected the bows made of pure energy with his Spear of Infinity and replied with fierce strikes, the tip covered with fire runes. "Shouting won't turn your dreams into a reality!" 

Clank!

Sylvester's spear struck Rathagun once again, this time on his stomach. Seeing that, Sylvester also charged ahead on the Light Tiles. Once again, the Wrath of Heavens formed on his palms, but this time, the spear was going to be a component as well. 

Rathagun noticed it and retreated some distance before charging his arrow as well. This time, it was much bigger than before, becoming thick enough to stretch the string almost all the way back and the bow bent. Its length was more than Rathagun's height. With green shining light, it also included some brown and purple sparks pertaining to other elements. 

Once again, their moves collide and spread light everywhere. Bloodrain was also prepared and appeared behind the elders this time and claimed one more nape with his bleeding sword. 

BOOM!

However, a loud blast echoed in the sky just then, and Sylvester's white light vanished. Only the green flickering of Rathagun's arrow remained. Once the lights disappeared, Sylvester was nowhere to be seen, and Rathagun was fully focused on Bloodrain, Soulbreaker and the two severed heads on the ground. 

"You dare play tricks in my land!" Boomed Rathagun, preparing himself to strike. 

…

Meanwhile, in the sky, some distance away, Sylvester found himself yanked with force. He wasn't injured at all, but the force at which their strikes collided and the fact that Rathagun's strike was stronger threw him off. 

"I misjudged his strike—Is he trying to fight me for real?" Sylvester wondered and soon found his trajectory changed thanks to gravity. Before he knew it, somewhere in the Beastkin region, he landed right on top of a small house with a tiled roof. 

Bam!

Breaking in, through the roof and a lot of dust, he landed inside the house. He made sure to land softly, not to kill anybody. But when he looked at who was nearest to him, he postponed returning. 

"Oh, hello there," He greeted the little girl with the face of a baby tigress, sitting in a cute flowery dress on a chair and eating her food. 

He was on the floor beside her chair with all the rubble on him. Thanks to their instincts, the girl's parents were taken aback and jumped. Sadly, the girl had yet to develop those instincts. 

"Whaa! Elf!" The little girl chirped, having dropped her spoon already. With her big, yellow kitten eyes, she stared at Sylvester in awe. 

He chuckled and started to stand up, patting his clothes clean, "Not every handsome being is an elf, little girl. I'm the human Pope." 

"Poop?"

"..."

Sylvester sighed and crouched a little to jump out high, "Ah… Chonky would have loved to meet you. In any case, sorry for the trouble and the damage. Be well, eat your meals on time and…" 

He quickly fiddled into his pockets and took out three small pouches full of gold coins, "This should be enough for the damages and a lot of toys for you—farewell." 

With that, Sylvester leapt out of the roof and vanished into the sky. The little family of three was left in shock and confusion. Everything happened so fast that they didn't even get to react. 

"W-Was that 'the' Pope?" The father Tigerkin wondered. 

The mama Tigerkin nodded vigorously, "I… I've seen the painting in the temple… I think that was the real Pope." 

"No!" The little girl exclaimed, fiddling with some gold coins. "That was Poop!"

"..."

…

Sylvester kicked the air in the sky and flew back towards Divider Swamp. As he loudly burst through the sound barrier, he found himself at his destination in no time. He noticed Rathagun attacking Bloodrain, attempting to kill him. 

Boom!

Sylvester landed near the elven Elders and savagely kicked Ellitran right on his back, crushing his backbone into pieces and folding the man as if he were a piece of cloth. "Fight someone of your own size."

"Aaaargh!" Ellitran cried in immense pain as he found himself on the scorched ground in a painful position. He couldn't feel his legs at all. 

Bam!

Sylvester and Rathagun lunged at each other again and violently fought only with their arms and legs. However, it was soon apparent that Sylvester was better at that. He was also a Platinum Knight of the highest level and easily took Rathagun's kicks and punches. While the same couldn't be said about the elven man. 

Bam!

"You're getting good at this," Sylvester complimented. 

Rathagun smirked, "It's in the blood, it seems." 

Woosh!

Sylvester threw him into the sky again and kicked his feet to jump. He held the spear upwards and spiralled like a tornado. He cut through the air and struck Rathagun in the chest, taking him high up into the skies above the clouds. 

"I've got many more moves," Sylvester said, using the variation of metal manipulation. Once again, he tried electromagnetism on Rathagun and slowed him down a little. Afterwards, he utilised metal manipulation to toy with Rathagun's blood. It wasn't easy to do, but he tried it anyway. 

"Aaaaargh!" Rathagun roared in pain, his voice likely heard down below. 

Sylvester continued and used Aquafire, a move that combined fire and water elemental magic. Using it, he covered Rathagun in a fire that couldn't be removed easily. 

With his movements restricted, Rathagun found himself at a loss. 

"I still have my Supreme Void," Rathagun remarked. 

Sylvester chuckled, "Is that so? Go ahead and try." 

Red veins popped up on Rathagun's face as he attempted to use the most powerful tool in a Supreme Wizard's possession. An absolute territory where laws of nature belonged to the supreme ruler, the caster. 

"Can't?" Sylvester's ridiculing voice came, shocking the elven King. "Do you know why you can't use it?" 

"I-It can't be!" Rathagun panicked and looked around, still in pain from Sylvester's triple magical attack. "That means… I'm already inside a Supreme Void! But there's nothing… We're out in the open!" 

Snap!

Sylvester flicked his fingers, and darkness instantly shrouded them. 

Snap!

He did it again, and a red hue surrounded him. 

Snap!

This time, it was green. 

He kept at it, changing colours. Eventually, he even changed the scenery, making them appear inside snowy mountains, over the sea on a ship, inside a cave, at the beach, or inside a room. What was even more shocking was that they felt the physical effects—cold and warmth, air and scents; everything. 

Sylvester smirked and released Rathagun from his magical attacks, "I'm perhaps the only Supreme Wizard in history with my level of advanced affinity with light magic. Generally, people believe light is merely whatever shines. But the truth is, light is all around us—we're able to see because there is light in the first place. And whoever can control those spectrums of light—controls what we see." 

"But the sensations!" Rathagun exclaimed. 

Sylvester smiled and raised his arms sideways. Giant balls of elements appeared behind him, rotating in themselves. Fire, earth, water, air, and light all looked majestic behind him as if they were his halo. 

"I was born with an affinity for all elements, and combining them allows me to create whatever situation I desire—or do as much damage as I want," Sylvester said, finishing his little explanation. "Now, it's time to honour the agreement we made before." 

Rathagun nodded and took a fighting stance, "Our battle will last days, if not weeks—I hope you came prepared." 

Sylvester coldly nodded and raised his spear, "As I said… I don't pick fights I can't win. I've waited years for this—mere days are easy to dismiss."

Boom!

And with that, the constant sounds of their battles resounded all over. For hours, Bloodrain, Soulbreaker and the remaining elven Elders also battled each other. However, due to the legendary retired General Zelphar, the Guardians couldn't kill anyone anymore. 

Eventually, they got tired and set up their camps while listening to the sounds of a raging battle in the sky. They gulped and sweated the whole time, wondering who was winning or if any stray attacks might fall on them and kill them. 

Still, the entire time, they didn't dare to leave. As a few more visitors they had to receive. Countless experts from various species sought the origin of the sounds. It was an opportunity, a possibility of gaining some treasures which they sniffed out like hounds. 

_________________

Thank you for reading. Gifts and GT votes are highly appreciated.