#135
Continental Summit (3)
“First of all, I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to come all the way to this distant place despite your busy schedules.”
As Liesta, Heinrich, and Cardinal Cordelia sat neatly in the empty spots around the round table.
“Well then, let’s begin the Continental Summit.”
With a brief greeting from the cardinal, the official meeting commenced.
“We are currently facing an unprecedented crisis. It may even be a greater threat than the two previous Undead King incidents.”
Cordelia’s voice, leading the overall proceedings of the meeting, resonated with holy power throughout the conference hall.
Everyone’s attention was focused on her low yet powerful speech, filled with the experience of her years.
“A thousand years ago, when the Abyss opened and the Undead King descended upon this land, half of it was shrouded in death.”
The people of that era had to unite their strengths and endure great sacrifices to defeat the Undead King and his army of undead.
“Three hundred years ago, the second Undead King was born due to a black magician who possessed the Heart of the Undead King. He obliterated the mighty Sarb Empire at the time.”
However, even he was ultimately defeated after much cooperation from many people, preventing further damage.
Moreover, unlike before, they thought they had sealed one of the fragments, ensuring that such a tragedy wouldn’t happen again…
“And now, the third Undead King has once again revealed himself to the world.”
Cardinal Cordelia calmly continued to explain about the newly emerged Undead King, Hans.
The Talia Kingdom in the western continent was the first to sense him, but Hans displayed cunning movements beyond imagination, constantly toying with them.
Luring the Church into conflict with the vampire clans, which were at odds with one another.
Using his black magicians ruthlessly as bait when they had outlived their usefulness.
Mocking the hunting squad that successfully tracked him down while leisurely escaping with ease.
After that, even the Church’s exhaustive searches were thwarted as he hid away in secrecy.
“Uhmm…”
“This is more serious than I thought…”
As Cordelia’s explanation continued, the expressions of the people slowly grew severe, but she didn’t stop there.
The horrifying evil biological experiments conducted in the Forest of Monsters in the western part of the continent.
Taking advantage of the exposed location of the laboratory to draw out the forces of Rosellia Temple for an ambush.
And even without the full power of the Undead King, breaching the Church’s ironclad defenses to seize the fragment of the Undead King that had been sealed deep inside.
And all of this was made possible by an almost unfathomable growth rate and meticulous strategies.
“…”
“…Ahem.”
The air around them grew chilly, and everyone’s expression turned grave, including that of the saint, Heinrich, who was quietly sitting.
“Wow… so Hans turned out to be a scary guy!”
Hearing the Church’s organized facts, Heinrich felt chills down his spine remembering Hans’s cunning actions.
“But no matter how strong he may be, I Heinrich will never give up!”
With determination, he clenched his fist and wore a solemn expression, filled with the will to fight against the world’s darkness.
Although he felt a few eyes on him, he didn’t bother to check. This was an act that came from his heart, not from concern for others’ views!
As he burned with a sense of duty as a righteous hero, the speech was still ongoing.
“However, what is most important is that this Undead King does not display the blind semblance of intoxication seen in his predecessors, but thoroughly conceals his actions while operating from the shadows of the world.”
What Hans planned was to perform sacrificial rituals all over the continent, opening the Abyss once more.
As a result, countless undead previously sealed in the weakened boundaries of the Abyss were unleashed, causing widespread casualties.
“But the real problem lies elsewhere. As you all know, it’s that the madness of the Abyss has spread across the entire world.”
Madness infiltrated the minds of the weak-minded monsters, drastically increasing their physical abilities and violence, leading to chaos throughout the world.
In areas densely populated with monsters, such as the Northern Mountain Range, known as a paradise for monsters, even those monsters quietly living in the hills went berserk, causing rapid escalation of damage.
Moreover, this situation showed signs of further intensification over time, as the madness planted in the world continued to swell, painstakingly parasitizing the monsters.
Once ‘madness’ increases, it doesn’t disappear by killing the monsters but instead spreads throughout the world again or becomes nourishment for even stronger monsters…
“To quell this madness crisis, we have concluded that we must seal the core of madness that came out with it from the Abyss.”
This was the conclusion reached after the Holy Church’s investigative team examined the place where the Abyss was opened over a long time.
Although most of the madness scattered and spread as a result of the imperfect summoning, there must be a tangible medium that manifested in the world.
And it was likely that the Undead King was using it as a weapon to attack the continent while hiding it somewhere.
In addition, recent stealthy movements by the army of the undead also felt ominous.
Their actions seemed like they were on the verge of preparing for something major, and the Church was also carefully watching the situation.
“Therefore, we must strive to eliminate the Undead King, the root cause of all these events. We must act swiftly before things worsen. For that, we need your cooperation.”
Murmurs—
Once Cardinal Cordelia’s explanation ended, everyone participating in the meeting began whispering in unison.
They were all high-ranking officials, so they understood the general situation, but there were many facts they did not know from her recent statements.
Moreover, among those remarks were incredibly sensitive matters concerning the Church…
While everyone was glancing around cautiously, one representative sitting in the front raised a hand casually, commanding everyone’s attention.
“I have a question regarding what I just heard.”
A young man with bright blonde hair and green eyes, who seemed indifferent to the surrounding gazes.
It was Simon Carte Azerion, the crown prince of the Azerion Empire.
“If the Church had managed the fragment properly from the beginning, wouldn’t the Undead King’s resurrection have been avoided?”
His remark, as he pointed out, was tantamount to the cardinal admitting to the Church’s shortcomings.
Because the fragment under the Church’s management was stolen, the Undead King ultimately resurrected.
“That means acknowledging that the Church made a mistake regarding the Undead King’s resurrection, doesn’t it? The root of this whole situation was due to the Church’s negligence?”
And Simon, who lived in a world of politics, would not overlook such vulnerabilities.
While the Church’s power was formidable, the Azerion Empire prided itself as the strongest nation on the continent.
Under normal circumstances, he would not hold back on such an explicit flaw!
“How will the Church take responsibility for this?”
Murmurs—
In this gathering, many countries had suffered damages due to this incident.
The public opinion would surely side with him, making this the perfect opportunity to undermine the Church’s influence.
‘This is good. I’ve always been bothered by the Church’s stronghold.’
The more the religious authority gained power, the weaker the royal authority became.
And right now, the Holy Church’s might was enough to surpass even the Empire.
‘I will become the Emperor who rules the Empire. I acknowledge the authority of the Holy God, but I cannot allow a servant who follows him to be above me. It would be great if I could suppress them this time.’
Trusting in the deity and this was a separate matter altogether.
Although they might be clergy, borrowing the name of the God to exert power made them mere humans, while Simon believed himself to be superior as royalty.
“Haah—.”
As the off-topic discussion took center stage, Liesta, who had been sitting, let out a small sigh.
There was hardly enough time to discuss the imminent crisis, and now it seemed like it would be delayed further.
However, judging by the mood, it appeared that many were on board with Simon’s sentiments, even if they hadn’t directly spoken up.
It’s only human instinct to want to cast blame on others when something goes wrong…
But now that the conversation was headed in this direction, it couldn’t just be brushed aside.
Just as Cardinal Cordelia was about to speak again—
“I understand what you are trying to say.”
A powerful male voice resonated throughout the meeting hall first.
And with that presence—everyone’s gaze concentrated in one place.
“However, our Holy Church—”
It was Heinrich, who had stayed quietly seated until now, standing up and making eye contact with each representative.
And soon, Heinrich’s intense gaze met with Simon’s, causing the crown prince’s expression to slightly falter.
“Has never once backed down from responsibility.”
While the prince’s statement was reasonable, one thing had been overlooked.
The Holy Church was not like those he had dealt with who, for their gain, hid their flaws and fought in the mud.
The Church had no intention of denying its past errors.
If they had aimed to hide everything, they wouldn’t have disclosed it from the beginning.
Rather, with more important issues piled up now, it simply wasn’t the time to continue discussing that.
“A thousand years ago, three hundred years ago, and in all other crises, the Holy Church has always bled at the forefront and never once relinquished our position.”
Leading the charge to unify everyone’s strength.
Tracking the movements of the Undead King while suffering from the damages to gather information.
Even when the sacrifice of allies was forced upon them to create opportunities.
When opening the way for the heroes to fight the Undead King in the final battle.
Even while carrying the obligation to defeat him and seal the shattered fragments.
The Holy Church had always been at the forefront.
“And this will be the same this time.”
Heinrich’s intense gaze pierced through Simon.
The aura radiating from him overwhelmed the space, making everyone present involuntarily hold their breath.
“This time, I will not deny the errors made. I and the Church must take responsibility in one way or another.”
A hush fell over the conference hall.
In this vast space, Heinrich’s voice alone echoed, yet it did not feel strangely hollow.
“I will stand at the front in the fight against the Undead King. If the situation comes that I must retreat, I will be the last to remain.”
Furthermore, such actions would not solely be from the saint himself in a battle.
Everyone in the Holy Church would similarly sacrifice their lives, continuing until the day the Undead King was completely banished from this land.
“…just as the Holy Church has done until now.”
Even after Heinrich’s words ended, there was still silence in the hall.
However, the atmosphere had shifted noticeably from before.
Most nodded in agreement, and those who had scowled relaxed their expressions without further comment.
In fact, what Heinrich said could be interpreted as ‘I will acknowledge the mistakes and work hard to fix them. Since we have done well until now, please give us a chance.’
There was no special reason for everyone in this world to respect and consider the Holy Church.
While belief in the divine played a part, the most significant factor was their past actions.
The faith and trust that had built up over a long period had become a fixed notion, transforming into intangible assets that held immense authority.
“…Well then, let’s see how things unfold.”
And Simon felt the same way.
He merely leaned back against the chair with a somewhat awkward smile.
Realizing that he had failed his original objective the moment the atmosphere shifted, he quickly changed his course.
‘Too much is no better than too little. It’s best to stop here for now. Opportunities will arise in the future anyway.’
Of course, he hadn’t given up completely.
His sunken gaze turned toward Heinrich, who radiated a presence that seemed to draw everyone’s attention.
A holy, noble, and fiercely righteous knight.
‘Saint, Heinrich…’
And there were many others sending similar glances.
His intense aura was deeply engraved in everyone’s mind, and thus, various emotions converged upon Heinrich.
By this point, it could be considered a successful saint debut.
Sigh— finally, we’ve managed to stabilize things. I guess this counts as doing a decent job?
Of course, he was merely cleaning up the mess he had made.
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