Chronicles of a Mage, Book One

Chapter 24: The Greatest Insult of Them All

"These hallways are so empty" Eeuna stated as I walked through vacant corridors. So far, the only other person we saw was that spell caster who killed himself through the use of poison and Mathra, who was sleeping soundly in his cell.
"That's good. It's proof that everything is going to plan. Ah, here it is" I said as I arrived in front of a closed door
"Is that your room? Why do you need to go there?"
"I want to confirm my suspicions" I opened the door and the room was almost how I remembered it, with a bed in the middle. However, to one side of the spacious room was something drawn in the shape of circle with a pentagram in the middle. Also there was my two spell books, mine and Daran's (I still don't know who Daran is. It sounds familiar though). "This is..." I walked over to the drawing and crouched over it with an outstretched arm and I felt a very faint tingle "This is magic chalk. This stuff can be used to create magic items or perform complicated rituals, such as contacting a being from another plane."
"Wait, so does that mean this magic circle is how that devil came to us in our dream?" Eeuna asked
"It's not out of the question. But I highly doubt it. It seems to have been hastily drawn and on inspection I can see that the chalk has been here a day at most." I then poured mana from my hand to the circle and it started glowing a vibrant orange "Also this design is way too simple to be able to perform a ritual as complicated as communicating with outsiders. And as you can see, when I pour mana into it, nothing happens. I'll bet that purple robed guy met with the archbishop claiming to be Yishna and told him I was doing something illicit after making this fake evidence. It's the only explanation that makes sense." But it still doesn't explain why or how Mephiles was able to contact me via dreams. But then again, maybe Mephiles is unrelated to all of this.
"So what do we do now? Is that really all you came here to do?" Eeuna said
"I also came here for these." I picked up the spell books and hung them from my waist "but at least now I have a slightly better idea of what's happening. Now let's go, I have an idea on how we'll deal with Dedaim" I quietly exited my room, on the look out for anyone who might still be wandering the halls.
"What's your grand plan? Surely we can just stab him in the back and be done with it"
"It's not that simple I'm afraid. The Archbishop will surely have the holy guards on his side. Even if I'm able to kill Dedaim in one attack, I doubt I'd be able to escape those guards and their anti-magic techniques. I do have a way to deal with Dedaim without needing to worry about the holy guards, however it's a bit too... honorable for my liking"
"So what your saying is that there's a good chance you'll die no matter what." Eeuna responded
"Yes. But the one option that gives me better chances is to challenge Dedaim to a duel. You see, in the tenants of Yishna it states that high ranking members of the faith must accept any challenge they receive to a duel. Yishna was a crusader in her mortal life and she was said to have adhered to an extremely strict code of ethics and honour. The archbishop is obviously devout follower of Yishna. He'd have no choice but to accept my challenge"
"That sounds almost too good to be true."
"That's because it is. If challenging Dedaim to a duel and defeating him was that easy then someone would've done it a long time ago. I've heard that Dedaim is a very powerful divine spellcaster. Anyone in his position would have to be. I don't like this plan. It leaves too much to chance." Even still, my overall speed and agility had improved from sewer delving so maybe I could beat him in a fight. Just as I became lost in thought, I was coming up on the back end of the main room of the cathedral. No one had noticed me yet but I could see a crowd of people formed at the front entrance of the building and they were facing Dedaim and his 5 guards who had their backs turned to me. "Alright, I'll just go up and challenge Dedaim to single combat. But first I must prepare" I then closed my eyes and started focusing on a spell "Spiritus venti, concede potestatem" there was a sensation like blowing winds building in my hands, even though they were closed. Normally, initiating a spell would immediately release it but a moderately skilled spellcaster could hold in a spell until they were ready to cast it. I started walking up behind the archbishop and I could hear the bickering between him and the unhappy crowd
"The goddess says to be kind and merciful! But you've been anything but that!" A man from the crowd shouted
"The goddess says to be kind and merciful to those who are worthy! And I have protected these sacred grounds from the unworthy for almost a century!" Dedaim snapped back
"What you mean the countless mages you've arrested and tortured over the years? They all did nothing wrong you murderer!"
"Do you know what caused Thele to fall during the Dark Days? It was a filthy mage and his vile sorcery! I was alive back then to see cities burned to the ground and thousands dead! Simply being a mage is a crime worthy of retribution for all those who suffered!" The Dark Days was only a hundred years ago so many elves such as Dedaim had actually been alive then. My aunt, an elf wasn't alive back then though.
"That's all in the past! How does that justify torturing all those people? Most of the people you kill are barely even adults!" Another man shouted
"It's true! I saw some girl chained up in his office the other month!" It almost sickened me to think about how many mages like me he tortured, killed and did whatever else to. If he had been alive since the Dark Days then he clearly had a lot of time to do questionable things. But it's illogical to worry about people I don't even know. 
"Yeah! You don't deserve to be archbishop! You're just a common killer!"
The archbishop scoffed "Blasphemy! Such baseless accusations are insults to the goddess Yishna! Do you really think yourselves above the goddess!? Such pride is a sin!"
"Then allow me to perform the greatest insult of them all." I chimed in theatrically. The room grew silent and everyone turned to look at me. 
Dedaim seemed to notice that I was unaccompanied and opened his mouth "You! What vile sorcery did you use to escape your cell? Actually don't answer that, I don't want to know. Guards! Kill him! Make an example out of-"
I cut him off before he said too much. "Archbishop Dedaim. I challenge you to single combat." The crowd gasped as I spoke coldly.
"Hey you actually sounded pretty cool just now" Eeuna commented
"Uh- The audacity! Do you realise that pointing your blade to me is akin to pointing your blade to the goddess?" The archbishop said, clearly shocked by this sudden turn of events
"If what your saying is true then I've been turning my blade towards the goddess ever since I was born." I retorted
"Hmmph" Dedaim adjusted his glasses and spoke "very well, I accept your challenge. Everyone, make the necessary preparations! I will show this fool what it means to spit in the face of Yishna." The guards then moved behind Dedaim to give us ample space for the duel, which was basically the rest of the aisle leading up to the chancel. The only terrain here were all the pews to each side of us and the chancel behind me. The benches weren't great as cover but I suppose Dedaim would have a hard time moving between them, given his size. Also, the chancel could give me a slight high ground advantage but not much else.
The guard with the red helmet (who I could only assume was a captain or something) stepped forward, raised his spear and counted down "Ready! And... Begin!"