Episode 260
The Holy Empire.
Amidst the ruins of a fallen empire, a new empire emerged, claiming its place. Its ruler was not human.
She was a goddess who loved humanity yet did not love humans.
In the capital of this Holy Empire, a woman was imprisoned in an underground cell.
Aurelia the Pure, once a saint who wielded the holy sword, wishing to become a truth truer than truth itself.
Stripped of her title and branded a witch, her prayers were finally answered.
─ You have endured well, Aurelia.
The goddess was there.
“Sistina…?”
Her holy sword taken, accused of witchcraft, and abandoned by all after the empire’s fall.
That was how it should have been.
─ Return the holy sword to her.
The sword Durandal, said to have been forged with the goddess’s blessing by the first White Tower Master.
A sword she believed lost forever was returned to her hand.
Beside the goddess stood strange beings with a smooth metallic sheen.
─ I believe you are the most suitable to lead my army.
“Your army, for me…?”
─ The war of revelation is about to begin.
Sistina spoke, and Aurelia the Pure began to weep.
─ Who better to lead us to victory than you, who kept your faith amidst endless darkness and fear?
“Oh…!”
─ A lie truer than truth can never be distinguished from the truth.
Hearing this, Aurelia could no longer hold back her overwhelming faith and wept.
Her pure faith was finally rewarded. She would fulfill her mission on the battlefield to bring forth the goddess’s realm.
The Ascension War had begun.
Meanwhile, in the royal castle of the Kingdom of Britannia.
Once hailed as the savior and known by the title of the saint, she failed to save her homeland.
When she finally reclaimed Britannia and became its queen, she was no longer a saint.
She was merely a dark executor, loyal to the Shadow Lord.
Reclaiming Britannia was not about faith or nobility.
It was about blood and power.
She purged the imperial nobles on the island, and in the rising fear, no one dared oppose Aurelia.
As Dale had said, she had finally seized her kingdom. But it was never the goddess’s kingdom.
The saint with the truest and deepest faith was gone. No mercy or compassion for humanity remained in her.
The Aurelia there was nothing more than a truth more false than lies.
And when the Holy Empire waged the war of revelation, Aurelia did not hesitate to fight for the Shadow Lord.
At that moment, in the Dead Sea Archipelago.
Amidst the crashing waves and the scent of salt, a man, drenched like a wet rat, stood there.
On a reef, he gazed out at the endless ocean, listening to the heavy sound of the waves.
“It is time to awaken…”
The Drowned Man, Barbarossa, murmured softly.
He watched the ominous shadows moving beneath the dark sea.
And he shivered before the presence lurking in the depths.
Turning away from the sound of the breaking waves, the Drowned Man looked back.
Once, he too was among those who endlessly fought to become the ruler of this land. But after realizing the truth, he finally understood.
From the beginning, there was only one true ruler of this planet.
Turning his back on that presence, the wars on the surface seemed nothing more than a ridiculous farce.
And that presence was merely in a deep slumber, soon to awaken.
“The Holy Empire…”
It was sudden and unexpected. Yet, when I saw Sistina and the ‘strangers from the eastern continent’ that day, I believed this would happen.
Another empire, claiming its place after the Third Empire, had emerged, and behind it was a goddess.
The goddess descended, revealing her presence and performing miracles for them.
That alone was enough to unsettle the entire continent. In the information war preceding the actual conflict, its significance was immeasurable.
In the ducal castle of Saxony.
Dale and his father were having a conversation in a private room.
“I am not a hero from another world.”
Dale confessed the truth to his father.
“Yet, I inherited the memories of the Blue Tower Master, and this is the truth I know.”
About the true nature of mana on this land and the identity of the goddess Sistina.
“A goddess who loves humanity.”
His wise father listened without surprise, only offering a bitter smile.
“How pitiful.”
That was his father’s response upon hearing about Sistina’s identity. It was unexpected for Dale, who blinked in surprise.
“Regardless of her circumstances, we cannot leave her trapped in the delusions of the past.”
“Indeed.”
Dale nodded.
“But with the goddess revealing herself and supporting the Holy Empire, people’s hearts will inevitably lean that way.”
“Indeed.”
People are weak. They all yearn for a god. It doesn’t even have to be the god of religion. Wealth, women, honor.
Yet, in this world, the goddess’s presence as the most powerful deity was undeniable. Even if she was a cruel god who did not love humans.
“In a war against a god, no one will fight for us.”
It was akin to defying a god and being cast into hell.
“The army she commands is more powerful than anything I’ve seen.”
“As you said, mana is ultimately a ‘substance that can become anything,’ and the goddess has the power to manipulate it freely.”
That is the power of the goddess’s army, the Outsiders.
“But they are not omnipotent.”
“Is there a way to oppose them?”
“Yes.”
Dale, understanding the nature of their power, continued calmly.
“The dark magic granted to me by the ‘Book of the Black Goat’ possesses a power distinct from her nanomachines. And Sistina cannot control all the mana in the atmosphere.”
“She cannot completely dominate the planet’s mana.”
“Exactly.”
Her reason for waging war was clear.
Her power was not yet complete. To restore the world to her vision, she needed to control all the nanomachines covering the planet.
In other words, the true purpose of the Outsiders was to perform the Repeater’s task, allowing Sistina to control all the planet’s nanomachines.
The synchronization of the Outsiders’ nanomachines and their interest in the elves, known as the mana race, were merely steps to achieve Sistina’s ‘true purpose.’
“Her ultimate goal is to seize all the planet’s mana. That is her victory, and it means our victory doesn’t necessarily require piling up the enemy’s corpses.”
“If your assumption is correct, moving an army against the goddess’s forces is meaningless. Facing those who are each an extraordinary power would be a futile death.”
“Indeed.”
Dale nodded.
“So, I have a good idea.”
Nodding, Dale smiled quietly, as a son determined to repay his father’s trust.
Shortly after.
Envoys from the Holy Empire visited rulers across the continent, and none dared defy them.
They vividly remembered the fate of those who refused the empire’s rule, shown by the metallic beings.
The only place that remained unscathed by the Holy Empire’s demands was the Dead Sea Archipelago, ruled by the Drowned Man, Barbarossa.
All other nations and territories bowed to the Holy Empire’s rule…
Even the Duchy of Saxony was no exception.
Soon after, the Duke of Saxony and his followers sent a message of atonement through a ‘pilgrimage ritual.’
The Duke of Saxony, his father, the Grand Duchess Charlotte of the Lancaster Order, Queen Aurelia of Britannia…
Those who declared themselves the Shadow Lord’s vanguard began their journey to the Holy Empire for atonement.
Waging war against the goddess’s nation was not an option. Victory against the goddess’s army seemed nearly impossible. Seeing even the mighty Black Demon submit, everyone believed it without doubt.
The pilgrims, led by the Shadow Lord, chose atonement over war and set out for the goddess’s land.
Accompanying them were numerous Night Raven Knights.
Among them, clad in the black armor symbolizing the Saxon ducal house, none were alive.
The Death Order, the order of dead knights.
The Holy Empire was not unaware of what this pilgrimage would entail. Yet, they had no grounds to refuse the ritual.
The war would take place there, in the goddess’s land.
Participating in that war was not the duty of the living. Even those who pledged loyalty to the goddess Sistina were no exception.
Against the legions of the dead, the goddess’s army stood ready.
Each one had undergone the baptism of ascension, transformed into sleek, metallic automatons.
The goddess’s forces, optimized to synchronize with nanomachines, were assembled there.
Leading this army was a pure white maiden, wielding a sacred sword.
No longer did she possess flesh and bone; she had been reborn as a smooth, metallic automaton through the baptism of ascension.
Yet, her feminine silhouette stood out as the sole anomaly among the ascended army.
The goddess’s army lined up to greet the pilgrims, and at last, the “pilgrims” emerged from beyond the horizon.
There was no sign of repentance or plea for mercy before the goddess in their demeanor.
Instead, they led an unfathomable legion of the dead, with the god of death among them.
A void of darkness and shadows.
Accompanied by the shadow lord and the knights who swore allegiance to them.