Chapter 241 – Falling

Continuously trembling whoosh in the sky, Kaiquilia gripped the holy sword tightly, her knuckles turning white. She could not comprehend the situation unfolding before her.

Was the sky really a being that could move as if someone was holding and shaking it? Was such a thing truly possible?

Yet, whether she was in confusion or not, she was the Empress of the Aiternum Empire, and she had tasks to fulfill. Kaiquilia turned to Minerva, who was also gripping her staff tightly beside her, and asked.

“Minerva. Have all the messages been conveyed?”

“…Yes, indeed. As the child said, all the knights are on combat readiness, and the magicians have also prepared. However…”span>

Minerva trailed off. Even without finishing her sentence, it was quite easy to guess what would follow.

“Are you saying it’s useless even if we gather them?”

Nodding, Minerva agreed with a somber expression.

Indeed, no matter how hard humans struggled on the ground, there was nothing they could do about what was happening in the sky.

Even the Eternal Magician couldn’t come up with a clever strategy. Instead of finding a solution for the situation, they couldn’t even comprehend why this was taking place.

Although they had instructed the knights to prepare for combat and gathered the magicians, what use would it be in a situation where the sky trembled and emitted all kinds of deafening booms?

“How do you see this ending, Minerva?”

“I too do not know, my child.”

As the pinnacle of the empire engaged in a conversation filled with helplessness, the booms continued resonating. Time slipped away mercilessly as confusion gradually intensified.

“Look over there, Minerva!”

Kaiquilia pointed urgently towards the horizon. Her silvery pupils followed her finger.

The sun was wavering.

The light mass radiating from the spherical body trembled shimmer and flickered before dimming, indicating the state was critical.

“…For the confusion to settle, it seems it will take a long time.”

Feeling this instinctively, Kaiquilia bit her lips. How much time would it take for the empire to regain stability after going through unprecedented chaos, with the sky vibrating and the sun swaying?

People would be anxious, rumors would spread, and confusion would ensue. In the midst of it, vile groups would attempt to exploit the situation.

To mitigate even a little of the impending confusion starting now…

“Child?”

Minerva spoke up with a trembling voice.

“What is it? What else could—”

Realizing there was still something to be shocked about, Kaiquilia, annoyed, lifted her head and froze. A full moon was rising in what should have been a daylight sky.

The sun and moon in the same sky? It was impossible. They could hear a murmuring sound from below. Given how astonished Kaiquilia and Minerva were, the reactions of the others were predictable.

But the astonishment didn’t end there. The physical distance between the sun and the moon gradually narrowed, and an enormous brilliance began to burst forth between them.

Clearly, it was far from the horizon, yet shadows crept behind Kaiquilia and Minerva as they watched the brilliance disappear below the horizon.

“Child, the holy sword…”

“…Is resonating with that brilliance.”

The blade of the holy sword shone with a golden light. This confirmed the situation was related to divine power.

Now that she thought about it, the tremor in the sky had stopped at some point. It was unclear when, as there had been so much to be surprised about. Whatever was happening, there was no time to grasp it.

An object radiating with dazzling brilliance had fallen down. Watching the brilliance drop below the horizon, Kaiquilia muttered in a daze.

“…Minerva.”

“I am aware. We just need to move to where that brilliance fell, right?”

“Correct. Make sure we can move as quickly as possible.”

“Merciful sun… benevolent moon… the miracle You have revealed, I have clearly witnessed with these two eyes of the little lamb…”

Floretta, Luna, Stella, and Selene were kneeling, gazing up at the miracle unfolding in the sky, clasping their hands together in prayer.

The shock from the recent tremor in the sky or the sun swaying had long ago turned into something else.

Of course, the sun and moon were rising together right above the hill where the four of them were kneeling.

Witnessing the sight of the sun and moon rising together, they were receiving the reward for the faith they had practiced, leaving no room for other concerns.

Even the cool and collected Selene shed tears, while Stella was outright sobbing. Floretta and Luna, barely holding back their tears, had glistening eyes.

This miracle would not be limited only to the four gathered here. The entire Holy Kingdom would witness it, and all the devotees would be praising the sun and moon.

“The brilliance…!”

The miracle didn’t stop there. Radiating from between the sun and moon, the brilliant light mass spread out to envelop the whole world.

That purity was something the popes’ divine powers couldn’t even come close to. Compared to that brilliance, Floretta and Luna’s divine powers felt like mere filth from a sewer.

The sun and moon, enveloping the brilliance, descended and rose back into the sky, but the light didn’t cease. It kept falling toward the spot where the four stood.

Floretta, Luna, Stella, and Selene instantly understood why the gods had decreed a revelation and ordered them to be here.

It must have been for them to witness this holy sight from the closest position.

“…Huh?”

Just as Floretta tried to take in even more of that holiness and brilliance, a familiar black silhouette appeared in her green eyes.

In the dazzling brilliance, there was someone.

“…What is it, Evangelina?”

Luna carefully wrapped her arms around her sister’s shoulders. Floretta silently pointed towards the brilliance. The black silhouette was reflected in her purple eyes as well.

Both instantly recognized the identity.

“Delta… sir?”

“That person…?”

The popes were surprised in succession, and Stella and Selene, who had been sobbing, raised their heads at the fact that the holy light belonged to Delta.

It was true. Although the distance was significant, somehow, they could see the details inside the brilliance clearly. Perhaps this too was the gods’ arrangement.

“Delta sir! Delta sir!”

Floretta hopped in joy, like a child, at the realization that the brilliance was Delta and that even the sun and moon acknowledged him. Luna joined in, smiling broadly with her hands clasped in front of her chest.

However, it didn’t take long for that smile to shift to confusion.

Something felt off. Did the scenery ever show beyond a human’s abdomen? Wasn’t it supposed to be full? Wasn’t a human’s…?

“A, ah…?”

There was a gaping hole in Delta’s abdomen. Not just a fist-sized hole, but one large enough for an average child to pass through.

Realizing that fact, the four froze in place.

Moreover, upon closer inspection, his falling posture seemed odd. The fact that he was falling headfirst meant he had either lost consciousness or could not control his own actions in some way.

The first to take action was Luna. In a panic, she immediately teleported to the proximity of the brilliance, replacing her frozen sister.

The light enveloped her warmly, but there was no time to feel that coziness. She pushed through the light mass and approached the black silhouette at its center.

“Delta…”

But she couldn’t even fully say his name before her expression twisted in horror. Upon closer look, it was even worse.

This couldn’t simply be described as having a hole in his abdomen. It was akin to his abdomen being completely torn away.

The inside of his mangled body was on full display, and his internal organs seemed to have vanished entirely. The mere fact that his upper and lower body were still connected felt nothing short of a miracle.

Luna hastily embraced Delta’s body. The brilliant light mass that enveloped him scattered into the air. As the golden light mass receded, the horrendous sight was revealed even more clearly.

Shaking with trembling hands, Luna descended with Delta and spread her silver divine power thinly. Delta’s body was laid upon the divine power.

Seeing that, Stella and Selene’s faces turned pale. For both, closely associated with the act of torturing humans, it was not an ordinary wound.

Even if they were to torture someone, their purpose was to cause prolonged pain, not to rip out someone’s abdomen whole.

An individual with their abdomen completely torn out would simply be dead.

“Delta… sob… our Delta…”

Floretta trembled as she approached Delta. Thick tears began to drop.

“Is he… still alive…?”

“…Yes. He is still breathing, Evangelina. He is not dead.”

Luna felt warm air as she placed her fingers below Delta’s nose. He was still alive. Although in such a state, his life was hanging on.

“Then, then we have to treat him… we have to take him to the cathedral… no, first a sacred spell—”

“…What are you doing right now?”

Suddenly, a voice, pale to the point of being ghostly, emerged.

Kaiquilia and Minerva, just arriving where the light mass seemed to have fallen, looked down at Delta resting on the divine power with trembling expressions.

“…What are you doing, I ask.”

“Your Majesty…”

“Is he dead or not?”

“Sob…”

“I’m asking if that man is dead, Pope of the Sun.”

“…No answer?”

“Are you not asking if he is dead?! Why won’t you answer?”

Kaiquilia shouted like thunder as she approached Delta. Her gaze immediately landed on the enormous hole in his abdomen.

His internal organs were missing, seemingly vanished into thin air, leaving a grotesquely large gap where it should not be. Finally, even his two eyes, closed as if in death, were a sight that made Kaiquilia grit her teeth and grip the holy sword tightly. Minerva tried to soothe her.

“Calm yourself, child.”

“Calm? Are you telling me to calm down now? Do you see it, Minerva?! Delta is in this state—”

“The child is fine.”

Kaiquilia’s furious words fell silent. The corners of her eyes and mouth twitched simultaneously. It seemed as if she was either forcefully suppressing her anger or preparing to express it.

“What… did you just say? That appearance… is fine?”

“I do not know what has happened, but other than the missing internal organs, all other functions are operating normally. He will not die. I swear it on Minerva’s name.”

Minerva’s pledge, mentioned alongside her own name, made even Kaiquilia hesitate. Her golden pupils turned towards the man lying lifelessly.

Though his lower abdomen up to his chest had been practically torn away, he was still alive in such a state?

“…Then, when will he awaken? If he is truly fine, it would not be strange for him to regain consciousness by now—”

“He just woke up, you know?”

The six gathered there were left speechless, staring at the black pupils that had become clear. They had no idea when he had come to, but Delta was looking up with a perfectly normal expression.

While the six of them were left in silence, Delta glanced down at his abdomen and clicked his tongue.

“Wow, what a crazy guy. Who did this neatly? Should I grab a donut later?”

Not even content with just that, he began to poke around the hole in his abdomen with his fingers. His behavior was unbelievable for someone who had sustained grave injuries.

“Why…?”

Kaiquilia muttered in disbelief. Delta, who had been trying different things with the hole in his abdomen, looked up.

“Explaining it all would take a while, Your Majesty. This isn’t the situation to be chatting about my open abdomen.”

“I am aware, child. So first, the treatment—”

“This cannot be healed with a sacred spell or magic.”

“…What does that mean?”

Instead of answering, Delta sprang up. The sight of the body, similar to a corpse, standing shocked Floretta and Luna.

“Remember that dragon that came to the Imperial Palace the other day? This was his doing.”