Chapter 325
At the heart of the Darek Union.
In the terrain where the trunk of Yggdrasil protrudes from the ground, there stands a building.
An architectural structure built closest to the holy Yggdrasil. However, it has no name.
It’s not as large as the Central Church that could occupy an entire city, nor does it have grandiose styles or ornate statues.
Just a single building.
No one knows its purpose, and only wild guesses abound.
The only thing known is that the Holy Emperors of the past have visited once a year without fail.
Gazing through the large, open windows at Yggdrasil can sometimes give the illusion of being embraced by it.
—Meow.
In the open area near this mysterious building, a long-haired cat appeared before Saint Diphelia, who had come here to pray.
As Diphelia recited her prayers, she raised the corners of her mouth slightly in welcome.
The cat, sensing her comfort, naturally rubbed against her. Diphelia gently petted the cat, showering it with affection.
“It feels like it’s been a while since I last saw you.”
The cat, savoring Diphelia’s touch, suddenly perked up its ears and tail as if it realized its mission, then opened its mouth.
From within, a piece of paper wrapped in plastic emerged.
Diphelia, observing her surroundings through the familiar perched on her shoulder, took out the paper and unfolded it.
A dense mana flowed out that could not be seen with the eyes and echoed in Diphelia’s ears.
“I see. This is the last message….”
The cold male voice resonating in her ears made Diphelia mumble in a strangely wistful voice.
There was no one nearby, and no connection to mana, but she continued to speak to herself, trying to quell the emptiness.
“…Don’t worry. The research is progressing steadily, and our position is definitely secure.”
The male voice continued, unresponsive to Diphelia’s reply.
With the vibrations shaking her eardrums, Diphelia opened her unfocused eyes.
His short yet intense impression lingered in her mind.
“Thank you for your hard work until now. No… saying that feels a bit premature. But, there will never be a day when I meet you again in this lifetime….”
“Because it won’t be born…”
I know it won’t reach, but I want to convey a word of comfort.
I want to lighten the weight you’re carrying.
Diphelia poured out her heart as if she were truly facing her opponent. When all the stored voices had finished, the paper she held burned and disappeared in a flame that wasn’t hot.
The cat doll guarding her view also vanished.
Whether at the Academia or now, the thoroughness of leaving no evidence remains unchanged.
Diphelia turned her head to look in the direction of the Central Church.
He must be there, surrounded by ominous energy.
“I wanted to see you with my own eyes at least once… Vargan.”
The Saint finished her final prayer.
*
“Lord Amon, it seems Vargan has returned to the front line.”
At the very front of the southern front. The bishop responsible for communication informed Amon.
Amon narrowed her eyes at the ridge located behind the Central Church upon hearing the name Vargan.
The bishop continued with additional explanations.
“After following Bishop Germu, it was confirmed that Vargan trespassed into Cardinal Jephar’s nest. It is presumed he made contact, but they could not ascertain what conversation transpired.”
“I see… To meet with Jephar at a time like this is incredibly suspicious.”
“I thought so too. Vargan is an enigmatic person. I wonder if he might be interfering with our intentions…”
“That’s what I find suspicious. For someone like him, a master of schemes, to brazenly engage in suspicious actions is hard to fathom. Moreover, it’s odd that he allowed someone to follow him.”
“W-wait, are you suggesting he did something suspicious on purpose?”
“I can’t definitively say, but if we look at it as a possibility, it seems more likely.”
Amon was extraordinarily vigilant of Vargan.
Because of him, they had lost the invincible Ipos and countless priests and bishops, ultimately being forced out of the seat of power.
Since the loss was so great, even the smallest actions became something to scrutinize and analyze out of habit.
“…However, no matter how suspicious it is, we can’t stop now. We must hope that Lord Bael’s return will bring peace to all circumstances.”
“I-I apologize for bringing this up, but what if Lord Bael were to fall into Vargan’s occasional tricks… Ah, never mind! I’m sorry!”
The bishop blurted that out in anxiety, but as he sensed how blasphemous his words were, he quickly bowed his head.
However, Amon responded as if such a thing would never happen.
“Even if the sky falls, Lord Bael will not be affected.”
Based on her experience, Amon held absolute faith.
“I know it from holding the Scriptures. I understand the boundless power contained within… Even in terms of personal strength, he would surpass Beled, the most powerful among the cardinals. With the power of the Scriptures as well, it’s hard to even imagine.”
After the Schugenhartz family clashed two Scriptures, the Scriptures could no longer fully function as if their blood had been blocked.
After Gennharts slammed two scriptures together, the scriptures seemed unable to function, as if their blood had been clogged.
It was like having an immense mass that could contain the universe, yet completely restrained.
Amon decided that most of the power of the scriptures had been sealed along with Bael, the owner of the scriptures at that time.
“Oh, Goddess! At last, I can come closer to you!”
“Bless this young believer…! You are the epitome of boundless glory!”
“I want to offer this blood as soon as possible! I want to become one with that being’s blood and flesh!”
While Amon and the bishop were conversing, the believers standing atop the spell wept tears of praise, rejoicing in this moment.
Around 105,000 believers from the Formists and Formless Faction gathered together.
Those willing to sacrifice their lives for their fanatical faith assembled in one place.
Amon looked at them. She was the priestess of this ritual.
Now that all the believers had gathered, the time of glory was drawing near.
“Let’s begin the sacrifice. Please return to your places.”
“Yes, understood…!”
Clip-clop—.
Amon ascended the altar, where a grand spell was clearly visible, and surveyed her surroundings.
Currently, they were facing the Central Church just a few kilometers ahead.
The Central Church, hidden behind an extremely sturdy defensive barrier, was an expansive building comparable to a large city, located in a basin surrounded by mountains.
Only the south was connected by flat land, serving as an entrance, completely blocked off by the First Legion led by Amon.
The archbishops aligned with her were Foras, Fenex, and the recently appointed archbishop, Shaul.
Except for Alokess, it seemed all the moderate faction’s archbishops were gathered.
“I bet they intended to significantly reduce our numbers using the moderate faction’s force, but that won’t go as planned.”
Amon gathered mana in her eyes and gazed at the army of Vargan, located in the northern mountain range, a good dozen kilometers away with 100,000 troops.
The First Legion, excluding the Formists and Formless Faction, consisted of over a million. Among them, more than 800,000 belonged to the moderate faction.
Bael and Beled had sent these troops as the vanguard to reduce the remaining moderates’ Altife.
“As long as Bael is here, the moderate faction will end the war without suffering significant damage.”
Amon wrapped up her thoughts and looked down at the believers before her.
Those 105,000 well-fed livestock were now pleading for slaughter.
“O faithful and noble believers who revere the Goddess. From this moment, you will truly become one.”
The believers cheered at Amon’s kind yet majestic voice.
Children and the elderly alike cried out with the same fervor.
At that sound, Amon barely held back her grimace.
She didn’t want to hear the screams of insignificant beings.
However, the price of having endured that filthy race until now would finally see the light of the world.
“It doesn’t matter whether you are Altife or human. In the end, ‘race’ is just an unnecessary term that refers only to the flesh. Before the Goddess, we are all the same bare souls.”
Amon smiled with a benevolent expression reminiscent of a saint.
Those foolish livestock pretended to be gentle so they wouldn’t flee in fear of death.
『I, too, am the same here. Our souls are byproducts derived from the Goddess, who is one. Originally, we all shared the same form and nature, but trapped in the prison of flesh, we obtained different shapes and personalities.』
Amon shed a tear.
Acting as if she genuinely lamented the situation, she pretended to be a sage caring for life itself, transcending humanity and Altife.
『It is truly lamentable. The long wars and disputes caused by differences. How much pain have you endured trapped in this prison? True believers gathered here today, you have suffered greatly. Now the Goddess calls upon you. She wishes for you to escape the chains of suffering and find freedom and peace.』
Zzzzzzz—!
The spell that the believers had been chanting activated.
As the light saturated with purple mana shone forth, the believers became even more ecstatic.
They called out Amon’s name and the Goddess, displaying their utmost faith.
『Those who bore no prejudice or discrimination are the true believers…! They are the ones worthy to stand by the Goddess!』
“May the Goddess’s grace be with us forever!”
“May we escape this world filled only with trials and tribulations and regain true peace!”
“Oh, Goddess! Amon! You are our saviors! Please forgive those hidden behind that cursed tree and grant them enlightenment!”
To them, a sacrifice is not a meaningless death.
It is liberation from the flesh. The fastest path to return to the one from the beginning by breaking the chains.
『Goddess! Do you hear the cries of these believers? There are so many who wish to be with you. Please grant them liberation and send a savior to this land to save those yet to gain enlightenment!』
Amon’s prayer came to an end.
The spell responding to her mana radiated in brilliance and engulfed the believers.
“The light of glory. It is His Holy Light.”
The believers praised the Goddess until the very last moment they were enveloped in light.
Then, the light that embraced everyone began to change its form.
Kwadudud—.
Kkudud—. Crackle—.
Crack—. Squish squish.
The sound of bones and flesh incessantly crushing.
A chilling noise echoed as if humans were being ground together into one place, and then the light vanished.
What remained was a thick mass of blood.
Precisely a massive lump of blood that had formed into a sphere floated in the air.
『Finally…. At last this moment….』
Amon looked at the blood with an expression of ecstasy.
She opened her arms wide, welcoming the being that had descended back to this land.
Just then, the blood seemed to condense into a point before rapidly expanding, tearing open spaces that had never been breached.
A man began to reveal himself from within.
A being with all its hair bristling appeared.
『Bael…! I have waited for so long!』
