I Became The Pope, Now What?
chapter-552

Sylvester continued to row his boat. He was the only one on the river, and it seemed like the waterways weren't well utilized as a means of transportation in the Beastkin's lands. Nature was also completely untouched, which sometimes made it hard to traverse the river; overgrown trees or vines sometimes blocked the water's surface.

"I'm bored… my mouth is dry," Miraj complained while lying on his back near Sylvester. "I sang too much."

Sylvester gave the furry fellow a few bananas he had bought in the city. It was a good thing that Miraj wasn't greedy enough to eat them secretly or steal them. He was always a well-behaved boy, except for a few occasions.

"We should be close. The map shows the river will curve almost completely in the opposite direction. So once we start hearing the sound of more rushing water, we'll be close." Sylvester said, reminding himself of the details as well.

Miraj quickly ate the banana and stood up, "I can fly up and look."

"Don't." Sylvester hastily exclaimed, worry-filled his eyes. "No, don't fly in the sky while we're in Beastaria. There are some dangerous flying creatures here, and that Demon is too mysterious for us to take such a risk. We can't see it, but it might be able to sense us."

As they continued their boat ride, the sun started to set, and the most dangerous time in any forest began to unfold. With an abundance of dark magic practitioners and the occult—it was a time when the most dangerous creatures crept around.

Unfortunately, they couldn't reach their destination by the time it turned dark. But to their luck, the sky was illuminated by the two moons; One was full, and the other was a crescent.

Clank!

Grrr…!

"Someone's fighting nearby," Sylvester muttered as he heard the sound of metallic things colliding. "Keep your eyes open, Chonky."

Miraj was quick to jump on Sylvester's shoulder and looked left and right to locate any incoming attackers. On top of that, the night was slowly starting to feel a bit too creepy.

'It came from the right. But it's an uninhabited region; why would someone be fighting here? Why would someone even travel there, since there are threats from all directions.' Sylvester wondered and kept his ears open for the sounds.

Gradually, the sounds turned into loud wailings akin to cries of agony. And just then, it abruptly became louder.

"Help!"

"Help!"

Sylvester and Miraj's heads perked up to the left, and in the distance, under the dark shadows of the tree, they noticed a shadow of a humanoid being. Half of its body was poking out from behind the trees, and its hand was waving.

In the darkness of the night, it felt too unsightly and nonsensical. Nobody was supposed to be in that region, and if anything was, it certainly wasn't human or Beastkin.

"Maxy, someone's in trouble. Let's help." Miraj stated the obvious.

Sylvester ignored it and only paddled faster. "Whatever it is, it's luring us into a trap, Chonky. I don't smell any fear, anxiety, or sadness… just the scent of hate and rage mixed together."

Miraj looked at the distant figure with confusion. "Hmm… it's very fast too. We're moving, but it keeps appearing behind a different tree… wait, there's five of them now… no, ten…"

"I know it, goddammit, that's why I'm rowing so fast." Sylvester was already at the maximum speed the wooden boat could handle. He could already sense the new presence appearing on his right in significant numbers.

"Help!"

"Help!"

Calls of distress kept on coming, growing louder. Now it certainly became clear why the region was uninhabited. The river was possibly the boundary that separated the Beastkin region and the occult region.

"Here, throw this Light Crystal at them. Let's see if they react." Sylvester handed Miraj a tiny crystal.

With his small and mighty paws, Miraj aimed at the trees. "Take this… my ugly whores!"

"You mean foes…"

"Yes!" Miraj didn't stop there and took a few more Light Crystals out of his belly bank and threw them all. "Take it… take it all!"

In no time, the area on their right began to shine brightly due to the light. However, that didn't affect the unknown creatures negatively but rather revealed their entire form.

"So ugly!"

Sylvester felt his scalp tingle a bit. Right there on the right, behind the countless trees, stood numerous weird creatures. Their bodies had no clothes, and their flesh was dark and completely rotten, oozing blood mixed with pus. However, what horrified him the most were the countless small eyes on their human-like head—it was nothing but countless eyes all over, and each of them blinked at different times and looked in various directions.

"The fact that Light Crystals didn't hurt them means they're not a demon or a ghost, but rather a creature. And…" Sylvester noticed something else. "It appears all these figures we see are a part of the same massive creature. It's only showing part of its body because the lower body is likely connected with each other like the roots of a tree."

"Help!"

"Help!

The voices continued the whole time. The creature also followed them for a few hours, but after a certain point, it abruptly stopped as if it had reached its limit.

"Could be its determined territory border." Sylvester wasn't optimistic about his luck.

Sylvester didn't decrease his rowing speed and tried to reach the destination as fast as possible. It was the damn river that had too many twists and turns, which occasionally led them in near circles within the same area. But, after the last scene, he felt the river was a much better route than land.

"WOAH!" Miraj exclaimed again. "Look, Maxy! That lady's body is made of roses and dust!"

"What the f…" Sylvester couldn't help but almost curse at that description. He quickly glanced up, and sure enough, it was a beautiful white-haired lady with a body made of floating roses and black dust. She had skin as white as the moon, and her lips were as crimson as blood. "Vampiress? Why didn't I smell anything?"

The woman looked down from the sky, staring at Sylvester's face. She slowly licked her lips, and her eyes carried a strange lustful glint.

'Oh boy… I don't like where this is going.' Sylvester knew he was probably the woman's type—a pretty man.

"Mysterious Elf, where are you going with such haste in this forsaken land?" Spoke the woman from the sky. Her voice felt like that of a mature woman.

Sylvester tried to understand how the woman was flying. Was it because she was a Supreme Wizard, or was it just an innate ability? He was inclined to believe the latter.

"A strange creature with many eyes was following me," Sylvester explained. "Who are you?"

The woman slowly descended towards Sylvester. "I am Rosebeth, and that is my slave, All-Seer."

Sylvester now wondered if the creature was actually asking for help. 'Did I ignore the poor lad's misery?'

"Is that so… Well, I'll be on my way then." Sylvester tried to ignore her and move along, hoping to avoid a conflict in the forest at night.

However, the vampiress' floating head came closer to his boat. "How long I have been waiting for someone to visit these forsaken lands—Finally… Ah, my hunger shall be sated. Would you, beautiful elf—like to impale me on a hard wooden stake and fill me with holy water?"

"..."

Sylvester rowed faster, for the thirst was off the charts. "I suggest you use a tree or something, maybe that slave. Give it multiple… things… instead of just eyes."

"STOP!" At last, she showed her true colors and growled. Her face turned fierce, her eyes red, veins popped on her face, and her sharp fangs protruded. "You're now mine!"

Sylvester sighed and stood up. "Spear."

"Spear," Miraj repeated, handing him the Spear of Infinity from his bank.

Sylvester extended another hand. "Holy water."

"Holy water," Miraj repeated.

"Silver coins."

Miraj, like a surgical nurse, handed all the needed things to Sylvester for the life-ending surgery. "Silver coins!"

"Light Crystals."

"Light Crystals!"

At last, Sylvester was done preparing. He dipped the spear in Holy Water, stuck the rest of the ingredients at the spear's tip, and aimed it at the vampiress like it was a javelin.

"Haha! You think I can't move fast enough?" She ridiculed.

WOOSH!

"Gah!" To her disbelief, Sylvester didn't throw the spear. Instead, the spear expanded at an unimaginable speed and pierced her head right in the middle. The silver coin, the holy water, and the light enter her body. "W-Who are you… How strong ar—"

With that, the vampiress disappeared into black smoke, her body disintegrating into nothingness.

"Did she die?" Miraj asked.

Sylvester was also confused. "Likely not, Chonky. If she can turn into black dust, then physical weapons can't harm her. Since she's not a Demon or ghost, the light won't kill her either… As for this spear, the wounds can be healed. She's probably just hiding now—but one thing's for sure, she's not strong."

With that, Sylvester began to row his boat again. This time, they didn't face any hurdles, and by the time the night was about to end, they heard the sounds of the water getting louder.

"We're close," Sylvester muttered and focused on the noise. Once he confirmed it was on his right, he hurried.

Soon, when he heard the sound coming from his left instead, he knew he had turned all the way around in the river, and just to his side beyond the treeline was the deep, dark cliff overlooking the swamp.

Sylvester dragged the boat on the land and then started trekking a little. He could sense a shift in the air ahead, anticipating the vast expanse of the area that lay before him.

"Miraj, stay put on my back." Sylvester sternly ordered and kept his spear in hand. "The Demon could have absorbed anything… be prepared to react."

Ten meters.

One meter.

Shhh!

With the final step, he walked out of the treeline and almost reached the cliff's edge. Since the sun rose in the West, the sunlight and the high cliff cast a shadow over the Divider Swamp, still covering most of it in a dark shadow.

"...Comeee clossser~"

"...Hehe… dad?~"

Thud!

Sylvester abruptly fell to his knees and clenched his teeth. He felt his mind suddenly being overtaken by countless voices, each mixing with another, creating a strange sensation of fatigue and grief. Beyond that, the voices felt enticing, clearly trying to lure him closer.

"Ugh…!" Sylvester looked ahead, and finally, the faint sunlight started to illuminate the distant edges of the Divider Swamp. It was a vast land covered with tall green grass. It had hidden rivers and water bodies. The land was also unstable, muddy, and similar to quicksand in places. It was the most remote part of Beastaria, and not even Merkins went there.

"...Shhh… mama loves you, Sylvester~"

"...Come closer~"

The voices seemed to intensify, and it felt as if thousands of heavy carriages were crashing into his body and passing by him, each voice seeming more powerful.

Sylvester decided it wasn't safe to go any closer. "S-Supreme Wizard, it has to be… it had enough… y-years to grow. Chonky, retrea—"

Sylvester looked left and right. Miraj wasn't on his shoulder. "CHONKY?!"

"Mewo… Hehe… Big mum~"

Sylvester laid down on his belly and looked down at the dark, still shadow-covered dept right beyond the cliff. Miraj was in view, slowly descending while making cheerful noises.

"CHONKY! Come Back!"

"Nyahaha… let's play~"

Sylvester gritted his teeth while it almost became unbearable to fight the voices that struck him physically and mentally simultaneously.

"It could affect him as well?" Sylvester mumbled and lowered himself further to call for his closest friend. "Chonky! Wake up!"

"Hehe…" But the giggling voice slowly diminished, along with Miraj's figure.

Sylvester took a deep breath and clenched the Spear of Infinity, his only tool out of the current predicament that he could think of. Then, he looked down once again at the unending darkness.

Without a second thought, he jumped. Nothing was more important than saving Miraj. He was, after all, family.

"No bananas for a month, Chonky!"

Thank you for reading. GT votes are much appreciated.