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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: TushChen
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The ultimate cause of the world’s impending end was the establishment of the one true god’s absolute rule, brought about by the disappearance of the innocent calamities responsible for humanity’s destruction.
Tyranny and Famine had been reduced to puppets.
Death had been put to eternal rest by the Saintess Party.
The “symbol of evil” that would continue the next chapter no longer existed.
Even the Earth Mother Gael, who had become the ultimate cause, couldn’t have foreseen this.
Even the supreme being who had ascended to the throne of the one true god was ultimately just a character in the story.
That’s why she was belatedly trying to prevent the world’s end by manipulating the Holy Kingdom.
“So how many have gathered?”
“A little less than forty.”
“That’s far fewer than I expected… Not even half of what I anticipated.”
“I-I apologize!”
Perhaps it was due to being constantly outsmarted by those damn cultists.
I had assumed there would be at least a hundred of them lurking in the shadows.
Less than forty?
That was far too few to shake the one true god’s throne.
A full-scale war against the Holy Kingdom was out of the question.
“We’ll head to the rendezvous point in three days.”
“Yes, understood.”
It was quite ironic.
To think I would be summoning those more repulsive than vermin with my own hands.
Pioneer.
That’s what the vampire called me.
I stared at the vampire, her eyes filled with anticipation, and fell into deep thought.
I couldn’t help but wonder if I was truly becoming the Pioneer of the cultists.
“All the apostles will prostrate themselves and worship you when you command them, Pioneer! The false one true god will eventually be consumed by the innocent calamity! The Ascension of Evil is near!”
“……”
I didn’t have such a grand ambition.
My goal was simply to dethrone Gael from her position as the one true god.
Ascension of Evil?
I didn’t want a world where those damn Disaster Gods ran rampant.
A world ruled by cultists, where slaughter and human sacrifices were commonplace, would surely be a living hell.
Therefore, even if I succeeded in dethroning Gael, I had no intention of participating in the Ascension of Evil.
“You must have had a hard time… Thank you for your efforts.”
“N-Not at all! It’s my duty to answer your call, Pioneer!”
The beautiful vampire with flowing black hair blushed and hurriedly replied.
Respect and reverence,
I could sense countless emotions directed towards me.
I didn’t understand why she called me Pioneer and trusted me so blindly.
I felt a sense of awkwardness, looking into the vampire’s constantly sparkling black eyes.
I often felt this way whenever I witnessed her unwavering devotion.
“I heard that you were chosen as the Holy Kingdom’s new hero by the Earth Mother! As expected of the Pioneer! A deception that even fooled the one true god! Those fools in the Holy Kingdom can’t even tell black from white!”
“Well, that’s true… They’re fools. To choose me, a worshiper of the calamity of War, as their hero. I’ll make them regret their decision someday.”
“Ah! Great Pioneer!”
“……”
I smiled wickedly, playing along with the vampire’s enthusiastic response, her arms outstretched in admiration.
Ariel trembled and blushed.
‘She spent days locked up in prison, eating nothing but candy, and now she’s gone mad. Should I feed her some blood?’
She was crazy.
Or she was pretending to be crazy.
I thought to myself, watching the vampire praising me with her hands clasped together.
“Ariel, come closer.”
“Y-Yes!”
Ariel approached cautiously.
I reached out and grabbed the black choker around her snow-white neck.
It would activate if she exceeded a certain distance.
It would also activate if she tried to forcefully remove it.
I had eased the restrictions on the bomb necklace, acknowledging her faithful completion of the mission.
The bomb’s lethality remained the same, but I had significantly increased the range.
“I’ve increased the range. You can leave the Valtarian Empire now.”
“I will continue to do my best… to repay your trust, Pioneer!”
To be happy despite being bound by a bomb necklace…
She was crazy.
Has she developed a taste for bondage?
It was a unique fetish, befitting a lewd vampire.
“Go and stand by. I’ll give you further orders later.”
“The plan to dethrone the one true god will finally commence! Yes, understood!”
The vampire, with a deadly bomb necklace around her neck, replied in a confident voice.
Her eyes sparkled as she raised her head, like a pet dog awaiting its master’s command.
And then, she dispersed into a blood-red mist.
I sighed deeply, confirming that Ariel had flown away.
“I thought she was just desperately trying to survive… but she truly believes I’m the Pioneer.”
It was a truly unfortunate misunderstanding.
How did she come to believe that?
This was deplorable.
I felt a pang of guilt, seeing her unwavering faith.
From now on, I would use the cult forces as a necessary evil.
It seemed possible if I gathered the apostles, led by Ariel, and forced them to obey.
???????
Zebeline was obsessed with obtaining the wedding ring from Edanant.
The wedding ring.
Proof of a pure love, a formal bond between a man and a woman.
The White Dragon’s blessing, bestowed upon her through the baptism, seemed to be instinctively chanting “Pure love is the best!”
Zebeline, acknowledging that she was falling behind the old bachelorette of the Valtarian Empire, took a step forward with a desperate look.
Humiliation and displeasure surged within her, feeling defeated by her love rival.
“Hello, First Saintess.”
“I heard you’re leaving today? You’ve worked hard assisting His Holiness.”
A girl with flowing lavender hair approached.
She was wearing a pure white robe, signifying her status as a prospective saintess from the sanctuary.
She must have come to say goodbye.
As a senior, it was only proper to offer words of encouragement to her junior.
Zebeline forced a bright smile, suppressing her burning jealousy.
It was the polite smile she used for official occasions.
“U-Um, may I request… a handshake?”
“Of course.”
A handshake.
What a cute request.
It was harmless.
It’s not like my hand would wear out from shaking hers.
Zebeline nodded, looking into the lavender eyes filled with a mixture of anticipation and anxiety.
“……”
“…Junior?”
The prospective saintess, her hand clasped in Zebeline’s, suddenly fell silent.
Zebeline tilted her head in confusion and spoke.
“Ah! I-I’m sorry. I’m a bit nervous…”
“It’s alright. It happens.”
Zebeline smiled faintly, seeing the prospective saintess’s flustered demeanor.
She saw a reflection of her past self in the prospective saintess’s awkwardness.
When she was chosen by the White Dragon’s divinity,
The moment her appearance drastically changed.
It was a memory she wanted to forget.
Back then, she was nothing more than a clueless country girl.
“I will definitely become a great saintess like you someday, First Saintess!”
“Yes, I’ll be rooting for you.”
The prospective saintess, after shaking hands, expressed her ambitious aspirations and quickly retreated.
Ah.
I forgot to ask her name.
Zebeline muttered, a hint of regret in her voice, as she watched the prospective saintess with striking lavender hair walk away.
‘This is fate, maybe I should meet her after I return… I don’t know when that will be, though.’
She was incredibly cute and beautiful, truly a vessel worthy of being prepared for the Earth Mother by the Holy Kingdom.
She must have been raised like a delicate flower in a greenhouse at the sanctuary.
Sigh.
It was a relief that all the prospective saintesses had returned.
She didn’t like how they were showing interest in Edanant.
Don’t even think about it.
You’re just a junior prospective saintess.
Zebeline turned around and headed towards Edanant.
She was determined to deliver her final ultimatum, demanding the immediate handover of the wedding ring.
???????
As the Alliance Council meeting concluded, the kings of each nation began to return to their respective countries one by one.
And finally, Pope Boern, the co-leader of the Alliance Council, also embarked on his journey home with his priests.
As the Pope’s chariot began to move, the paladins in charge of his escort moved in unison.
“Did something good happen?”
“Well, yes.”
Boern asked.
The prospective saintess seated across from him replied, gazing out the window.
“Ludmilla Drake Valtarian. Zebeline Albion Russell. I saw both of them up close.”
“The vessels who received the blessings of the Red Dragon and the White Dragon. And what are your impressions?”
“They were both incredibly beautiful, like garnet and lapis lazuli. It’s truly saddening that they were chosen as vessels to seal the innocent calamities.”
“I see.”
The contempt and vigilance he had felt towards the vessels who sealed the calamities had somehow transformed into pity.
The calamity of Tyranny.
The calamity of Famine.
He needed vessels to seal them eternally.
And those vessels were the users of blessings bestowed by the Red Dragon and the White Dragon.
The vessels, who had become the protectors of the Valtarian Empire and the Gael Holy Kingdom, had played a significant role in suppressing the Demon King’s army and the cult forces.
They had used their lifelong enemies, reduced to puppets, to protect the one true god’s throne until now.
“That’s unexpected. I thought the Earth Mother would be wary of Saintess Zebeline and the Empire’s Second Princess, just as she despises Sir Edanant…”
“It’s completely different! Ludmilla and Zebeline were born with my blessings!”
It wasn’t simply because they were vessels chosen by the innocent calamities that she hated them.
If that were the case, Gael would have also directed her malice towards Ludmilla and Zebeline.
A foreign substance.
An anomaly, a fusion of a soul from the outside world and a body existing in the mortal realm.
The girl with flowing lavender hair frowned, expressing her contempt.
She emanated a hatred for the foreign substance that reeked of an unpleasant odor.
“But it’s a bit strange. I bestowed upon the vessels chosen to seal the calamities a supreme destiny as an apology… Why is Ludmilla still unmarried? And why is Zebeline still so pathetic?”
That was certainly strange. What went wrong?
The one true god, expressing her confusion, scratched the back of her head and continued her rambling.
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