The Holy Kingdom was peaceful.
Thanks to its always abundant resources, there was no chance of anyone going hungry, and as befits the renowned Holy Empire, even the rogues were at a near-perfect level of proficiency.
The likelihood of getting pickpocketed while walking down the street was low, and the vast land meant there were fewer people without homes.
Day by day, the number of people wanting to enter the Holy Empire was increasing, and the prestige of Eiros only seemed to grow.
However, they remained unaware.
Unaware of what was happening within the upper echelons of the Holy Empire.
The horrific reality hidden behind the scenes of Eiros.
No country was as well-suited to conceal dark information as one that appeared peaceful and carefree.
Thus, the Holy Empire, contrary to its outward appearance, had long been rotting at its core.
Therefore, Eiros was fated for destruction.
The corrupt Pope had sown the fragments of a Demon God throughout the Holy Empire, laying the groundwork for the birth of the Demon God while shattering what was once the most radiant of Holy Empires.
The Goddess must have tried to stop it.
However, due to the limits of her fate, her influence was minimal in a Holy Kingdom that had already decayed from within.
Even the Saint, the representative of the divine, had been broken by the Pope’s continuous brainwashing disguised as discipline, destined to see the Holy Kingdom thoroughly destroyed by the Demon God.
But times changed.
Jörmungandr.
Originally just a monster from Norse mythology, he was born into a world teeming with infinite possibilities, granting him a new narrative.
The once predetermined fate had been completely distorted and was moving toward a new direction.
For instance.
The remnants of the Demon God, which had been cruelly tormenting the Saint, were shattered.
Even the Cardinal, who was to eliminate all rebels opposing the Pope or trying to unveil the truth, was utterly obliterated before Jörmungandr’s gaze.
The impending doom of the Trelinia Kingdom, slated for destruction by the Demon King’s minions, and the massive war that would rise upon the fallen monarchy were thwarted by Jörmungandr.
The Demon Beasts that came through the portal created by the Demon King over countless centuries found any weaknesses in the human-made fortifications, entirely flipping the dynamics of battle, twisting the looming deaths of millions of humans.
Originally, the fate of this world.
Was destined to end in the overwhelming victory of the Demon God.
No matter how quickly the Goddess detected the Demon God’s schemes, she, unlike the Demon King who had nothing to protect, had too much to safeguard and was bound to lose.
However, that fate had been twisted.
Jörmungandr, born from the Goddess gathering all her possibilities.
His existence had chewed through the path leading to a single fate.
Thus.
A presence observing all those fates snapped its fingers.
Darghun.
It was a meticulously crafted scenario.
Everything was supposed to unfold under his control.
But it went awry.
All those timelines connecting fate and the future shattered into myriad fragments, scattering endlessly across countless universes.
He was displeased.
He attempted to latch onto one twisted fate of the world, trying to guide it back to its original timeline, but it was impossible.
That world had long since slipped from his grasp.
Jörmungandr.
I must remember.
The image of the colossal serpent enveloping the world.
It was inscribed upon the page that would document his new record.
* * *
The Holy Kingdom was peaceful.
Yet, an unexpected declaration of war was about to spread throughout that very kingdom.
The Pope’s underlings were already poised to declare war on the Trelinia Kingdom.
The charges included the kidnapping of the Saint and the assassination of the Cardinal.
What would happen if this information spread throughout the Holy Kingdom? Furthermore, what would become of the Trelinia Kingdom if it reached the world at large?
The Holy Kingdom didn’t even need to deal with it directly.
The Empire of the Sun would wipe the Trelinia Kingdom off the map without a trace.
The Pope chuckled.
Everything was going smoothly.
It was incredibly easy to imprison the foolish Saint and bind her with discipline, and the pawns he could easily use rolled right to his feet.
For someone who had once been ordinary, he had risen to the position of Pope thanks to the blessings of the Demon God, and seizing control of the high command through that power was remarkably easy.
Yes.
As if it were a predetermined fate.
Everything he wished to accomplish flowed smoothly. And as he witnessed those actions set off a domino effect, sequentially becoming stepping stones toward the future, it could only be the will of the Demon God.
He could understand why the Holy Kingdom rejected the Demon God.
They must have been terrified.
Terrified of the Demon God revealing his true form to the world.
Terrified of the Goddess shattering all her creations into pieces.
The Goddess, that woman,
was someone who couldn’t do anything herself.
Thus, the Pope disregarded her.
Unlike the Demon God,
the Goddess couldn’t even manage nations that followed her.
The birth of a Solitary Hero as a countermeasure against the Demon Realm?
Sure, that sounds good.
It’s nice that humanity was given new hope.
But why didn’t she intervene directly?
Even the birth of the Solitary Hero was insufficient to stop the Demon God. Looking at the frontlines right now, humanity was on the brink of fragmentation, everything nearly trampled under the Demon Beasts’ feet.
For some reason, all the Demon Beasts suddenly disappeared, but
he had no doubt that too was part of the Demon God’s design.
Everything about the Demon God was perfect.
The Pope was practically covered in goosebumps from the meticulousness that could almost see into the future.
He just had to ride the wave of that brilliance.
“The Goddess, that woman,”
couldn’t even regain a single sense of the Saint?
That fact alone was irrefutable proof of the Goddess’s incompetence.
If the Goddess, the supposed coordinator of the world, couldn’t stop the two Dragons, that moment would have been as good as the world collapsing. Yet, the Pope had no interest in whether the Goddess had caused such events.
“Now, there’s no one left to stop me in the Holy Kingdom.”
Even that illustrious Saint was
not even in the Holy Kingdom right now.
Moreover, declaring war under the pretense of rescuing the Saint and bringing her back to the Holy Kingdom would surely turn all the common folk into fervent fanatics devoted to him.
And at that moment.
Kuuuuuuuuuuuuung——!
In the beginning, there was light.
A colossal light fell upon the Holy Kingdom.
It was unfathomably greater than any mere sun.
An endlessly vast, warm, and mystical light descended into the heart of the Holy Kingdom and slowly began to coalesce into a single form.
[My children.]
It was unmistakably
the figure of a woman.
Exceedingly mystical.
Even in mere shimmering form, she was perfect and beautiful, the very embodiment of the Goddess.
In awe of that overwhelming sight, the followers looked up to the heavens and knelt. They gawked at the light, making the sign of the cross and bowing their heads.
It felt like a scene out of a myth.
The enormous light took control of the world, driving away all the corrupt black influences lingering in the Holy Kingdom.
“What’s… happening?”
“What am I… doing?”
“Ah, oh… Oh Goddess….”
The once-dulled eyes of the followers, corrupted by the Demon God, returned to life. They stared blankly, recalling their disgraceful deeds, then fell to their knees before the form of the Goddess with tears of joy in their eyes.
“I’m, what is this?!”
The Pope was flustered.
Suddenly, the Goddess?
It was hard to believe.
Was that really the Goddess?
No way.
That was just a mere ball of light.
The Goddess would never reveal herself in the Holy Kingdom.
After all, she hadn’t bestowed any revelations for centuries. Moreover, he’d been told by the Demon King’s underlings that she had suffered serious harm, making it impossible for her to recklessly step into the Human Realm.
“That’s a lie!! Everyone, snap out of it!! That filthy mass of light is trying to deceive us by pretending to be the Goddess!!”
The Pope shouted.
He insisted to the followers that the glowing mass was merely an illusion.
There was no way it could be the real Goddess.
He yelled at the Holy Kingdom to put its guard up.
It felt almost desperate.
Just then, the figure of the Goddess moved.
[Believe.]
A hand of pure white light swept across the Holy Kingdom.
In response, brilliant particles of light enveloped the kingdom. As the soft, floating particles of light brushed against the followers making the sign of the cross, all their wounds and ailments were healed in an instant.
The elderly who couldn’t stand due to back pain.
The young boy on the brink of death from illness.
The girl who could no longer run about because her leg was amputated.
All of them gasped in disbelief as they touched their now-cured bodies.
Everyone shouted that it was a miracle.
They bowed their heads in reverence to the form of the Goddess.
They whispered oaths to devote their souls to her.
[This Holy Kingdom is far too corrupt.]
The Goddess’s first words were shocking.
The claim that the Holy Kingdom was corrupt sent shivers down everyone’s spine.
Was she about to deliver punishment?
[Those who believe in me are still walking the right path; however, it seems the one at the top— the Pope— has fallen for the Demon King’s deception.]
All the followers’ gazes turned simultaneously toward the Pope, who stood at the highest point.
The chilling madness of it all made the Pope’s body shudder.
“What nonsensical talk! Don’t believe her!! That’s just the Demon King imitating the Goddess!!”
No one believed the Pope anymore.
They could see it too.
The horrifying phenomenon casting a dark shadow behind the Pope.
Anger surged in the eyes of all the followers.
A terrifying hatred that could burn through their own bodies turned in an instant toward the Pope.
A wave of hatred ready to ignite at any moment.
The Goddess lightly waved her hand.
[The rotting roots must be pulled out, don’t you think?]
The tide of humanity surged forth.
Like a swarm of ants sensing prey, countless followers of the Holy Kingdom pounced upon the Pope.
“What, what is this?! Get away!!”
The Pope swung his fists.
With that alone, the mere followers should have had their heads burst open.
Thud—!
An invisible, transparent barrier blocked him.
“Charge forward!! The Goddess is watching over us!!!”
An endless wave of humanity surged.
The Pope was engulfed by the throngs.
In the multitude of hands, the Pope fell victim without a chance to speak.
“D-Demon King…”
Belatedly, he reached out toward the Demon King.
But that dark figure merely glanced at the Pope and vanished in an instant.
“Ahhh…”
His outstretched hands were buried in the crowd.
It was the Pope’s empty, final moment.
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