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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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The Heroes chosen by the One True God had all turned against her.
The sharp blades of the holy swords, once used to punish the Demon King’s army and the cult forces, were now pointed at the Holy Kingdom.
A betrayal of epic proportions.
After all, the ones who had turned against the Holy Kingdom were the Hero and the Saintess, symbols of the One True God’s sanctity.
‘With the Hero of the Ages on our side… we have a fighting chance.’
To even consider victory against Ilkeron Nebiakus and Cirel Veillard was the height of arrogance. As the Holy Kingdom’s foremost swordsmen, they were demigods, embodiments of the One True God’s authority.
However-
Maximilian had switched sides.
His arrival instantly changed the tide of battle.
The paladins, who had been relentlessly charging despite the barrage of white lightning from the White Dragon, faltered. They had witnessed the Hero of the Ages, hailed as the strongest of all time, turn against them.
Zebeline, who had been locked in a fierce standoff with the Holy Kingdom’s forces, let out a sigh of relief. She turned her gaze towards the Hohenberc brothers.
-I’ll take the lead, so just follow my lead.
“That’s my role. Stand back.”
Edanant and Maximilian bickered, shoving each other with their elbows as they both vied for the vanguard position.
Could they truly cooperate?
Considering their history of constant squabbles, doubts and anxieties gnawed at her.
“You insolent fools…! I’ll execute you all at once!!”
Cirel, taking Edanant and Maximilian’s childish antics as a provocation, raised her sword.
A violent vortex swirled around her blade as she lifted it.
A crimson tempest imbued with holy power.
The ferocious wind, its destructive power maximized, swept across the ground like a predator’s claws, targeting Edanant and Maximilian.
“I’ll block it.”
-Do as you please!
Maximilian countered the crimson tempest, swinging his holy swords.
Simultaneously, Edanant unleashed a barrage of bullets from hundreds of muskets.
“Master, I will hold back these two traitors!”
“I’m fine. I can fight.”
If they failed to stop the traitors now, capturing the First Saintess would become impossible. It was a special operation involving all the cardinals, so failure was not an option.
It was the will of the Supreme One.
She would soon descend upon the mortal realm.
The appointed time was fast approaching.
Therefore, they had to fulfill the Supreme One’s command at all costs.
Ilkeron and Cirel cut through the incoming bullets, traversing the battlefield. Edanant and Maximilian responded in kind.
“……!”
–Clang!
The Black Cardinal, pushing his limits, activated Divine Speed. He reappeared behind Edanant in a flash, his sharp blade aimed at his back.
However, the surprise attack was thwarted. A metallic clang echoed as his blade was deflected.
Maximilian had intercepted the attack, having anticipated Ilkeron’s movements.
“As expected…! You’ve reached that realm as well.”
“Indeed.”
Even Edanant couldn’t perceive Ilkeron’s movements when he activated Divine Speed. It was a superhuman velocity beyond comprehension.
But Maximilian had seen through it.
He had even matched the trajectory of Ilkeron’s blade.
Maximilian had also activated Divine Speed. The ominous aura emanating from Procyon, the Black Star, was proof of this.
“Apostle of War! I will annihilate you, who mocks the authority of the One True God!”
-You? Don’t overestimate yourself, you perpetual runner-up.
The Unrivaled Sword,
Cirel Veillard.
She was the undisputed strongest among all the Holy Knights of the Holy Kingdom.
She had inherited the Black Cardinal’s swift swordsmanship.
She possessed unwavering courage, a resolute determination to punish all evil, and an unshakeable faith in the One True God.
And she wielded a supreme sacred artifact, a perfect replica of a holy sword.
The Unrivaled Sword knew no defeat.
She had triumphed over countless powerful foes from the Demon King’s army and the cult forces, emerging victorious from even the most improbable of trials. That’s why she had become the One True God’s most favored paladin.
It was natural for her to feel threatened by the Apostle of War, who had proven himself a match for the Unrivaled Sword.
-Unleash it.
A torrential downpour of artillery fire.
The Calamity’s judgment, designed to crush the replica holy sword, descended.
Even the Black Cardinal had chosen to evade this attack. Cirel, witnessing the countless shells raining down upon her, swallowed nervously, raising her holy sword.
“Kgh!!”
–KABOOM!!!
She unleashed a crimson tempest, maximizing the output of her holy sword.
However, her limits were clear.
How could one hope to block a torrential downpour with a mere umbrella? The crimson wind, battered by the relentless barrage, began to falter.
If she were swept up in the attack, she would perish.
Not even a trace would remain, reduced to ashes.
The siege cannons filling the sky continued their bombardment. Cirel, her eyes filled with despair, braced herself for the Calamity’s judgment.
“Sir Cirel!”
“Master…!”
Just as the artillery fire was about to be followed by an even more destructive barrage of projectiles,
Someone intervened.
Ilkeron, activating Divine Speed, scooped Cirel into his arms and escaped the blast radius.
-You were supposed to restrain him. Can’t you even do that?
“…”
The relentless bombardment transformed a section of the Sanctuary into a desolate wasteland.
Statues depicting past heroes and saintesses,
Centuries-old cathedrals that had stood the test of time,
Even the Holy Kingdom’s victory towers, commemorating their triumph in the Third Racial War, were reduced to ashes.
Yet, Edanant merely expressed his frustration at having lost his target, seemingly unfazed by the destruction he had wrought.
“Edan, look over there.”
-What now?
Maximilian, pointing with his sword, spoke.
Edanant, following his gaze, narrowed his eyes.
“Could that be…! Edan! The Holy Kingdom cardinals are trying to open a gate to the Celestial Realm!”
-Damn. That’s a problem.
Just as the Disaster God’s apostles had opened a passage to the Chaos Realm in the Valtarian Empire’s capital, the Holy Kingdom’s cardinals were attempting to open a gate to the Celestial Realm.
Just what was happening?
Were they planning to summon the One True God’s angels?
This was not good.
An ominous premonition washed over me.
An immense holy power, split into six pillars of light, pierced the sky. The dazzling radiance, illuminating the heavens, filled me with a sense of foreboding.
‘Damn it, I was so preoccupied with that old man that I didn’t notice the cardinals’ scheme. But Maximilian didn’t notice either? There’s no way… The strongest hero was unaware that the Holy Kingdom’s higher-ups were trying to open a gate to the Celestial Realm?’
Had Maximilian truly been following the Holy Kingdom’s orders without question?
I looked at him suspiciously.
Despite the unfolding events, Maximilian’s expression remained unchanged, his usual stoic demeanor unwavering.
“So this was their reason for summoning the Calamity of Famine.”
-What do you mean?
“They intend to use the One True God’s emissary to subdue the Calamity of Famine. Even those arrogant cardinals wouldn’t believe they could control a Harmless Calamity with human power.”
-So… you’re saying the One True God’s emissary is the mastermind behind this?
Ilkeron, Cirel, and the rest of the Holy Kingdom’s leadership were mere pawns.
The true mastermind was a celestial being.
Even the celestial beings were desperate to prevent the apocalypse, willing to intervene in the mortal realm. They must have mobilized the entire Holy Kingdom for this extreme plan.
-Let’s postpone this conversation. We need to stop those beams of light shooting into the sky. Now that I think about it, the Archangels’ Cathedral is located in the center of the Sanctuary.
If they destroyed the Archangels’ Cathedral, which served as the focal point for the massive ritual, they could stop the gate to the Celestial Realm from opening.
It would be a simple task.
Ilkeron and Cirel had escaped, and the paladins who had engaged in battle were incapacitated by the lightning strikes.
Edanant extended a hand, commanding the siege cannons deployed in the air. It seemed he intended to obliterate the Sanctuary’s central area, where the white light was converging.
“Stop, Edan.”
-What now? Is the great Hero planning to betray his own brother?
A holy sword, gleaming with an ominous dark light, moved.
Its sharp tip was pointed directly at Edanant.
Edanant clicked his tongue as Maximilian issued a stern warning. Though his question was laced with mockery, Maximilian’s expression remained impassive.
“Let it be. We need the Seraphim for our plan.”
-What…the Seraphim?
Edanant now finally understood why Maximilian, who had severed all ties and disappeared, had returned to the Holy Kingdom and joined forces with the cardinals.
The descent of the Seraphim.
That was the Saintess Party’s objective.
Surely he didn’t intend to use the One True God’s Seraphim to capture Zebeline. He must be planning to exploit the Seraphim’s descent for his own agenda.
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