Chapter 194
Eilin walked forward, radiating light.
The silver suit of armor she wore shimmered with a rainbow sheen, and her wings of light—dozens of strands—unfurled three meters wide, fluttering above her shoulders.
It was truly the descent of a Goddess.
A dazzling light of divinity. Wings of light no one had ever seen before. And a radiant, shining divine sword.
It was enough for soldiers to forget the battle and fall to their knees. Even soldiers of the Central Army couldn't help but instinctively worship her. She was the very embodiment of true divinity.
Moreover, astonishingly—
Her magic power was immense.
Leo had said I'd be surprised, and this must have been what he meant.
Such a person now stood by my side.
In her helmeted eyes, I could see the delight of meeting again after so long. Her wings of light spread out even more magnificently.
A sacred being was at my side.
What could that possibly mean?
Eilin spoke.
"Lord Roger is not a devil. He is an apostle of the same God as I am. Those who seek to harm him are the ones who truly serve devils."
The soldiers' eyes filled with shock.
The tide had completely turned.
Lord Watts shouted out at once.
"Can you not see where the will of God lies! The apostle of God has come to us! They are merely the remnants of the corrupted Holy Order! God is on our side!"
"Waaaah!"
The Capital Defense Force soldiers all rose with a shout. Now everything was clear—they may both have been holy, but this was divinity on a different plane entirely.
Watts shouted again.
"They seek to harm an apostle of God in the name of a false god! Those priests and Holy Knights are the true agents of evil! Soldiers of the Central Army, punish those who deceived you!"
The Central Army stood awkwardly, hesitant.
Everything was clear now, but until just a moment ago they had believed in the priests and Holy Knights, and had fought us as enemies.
But their conflict didn't last long. Some soldiers who had climbed over the wall began running towards the main gate. At my gesture, our members opened it.
As soon as the gate opened, the Central Army soldiers flooded in—only to suddenly freeze. They had only heard voices and didn't know what to expect, but as soon as the gate opened, they saw Eilin.
A priest shouted urgently.
"Don't be fooled! That is no apostle of God!"
"If she isn't divine, then what is she!"
"Charge! Don't be deceived!"
The priest screamed desperately.
But by then he was surrounded by Central Army soldiers, and some were already attacking the Holy Knights.
"Dare you deceive us!"
"They're fake Holy Knights!"
"Kill the priests! They lied to us!"
"We are the true priests! They're devils!"
"Shut up with that nonsense!"
A fight broke out within the Central Army.
The Central Army officers yelled as well.
"Eliminate all the priests and false Holy Knights! Punish those who tricked and blasphemed against God! If we do not, we will be punished by God ourselves!"
"That's right!"
"Get the fakes!"
The Central Army soldiers turned on the nearby Holy Knights, attacking. Dozens of spears pierced priests and Holy Knights before they could react.
Far away, the Central Army commander and high command stood stunned. For them, the authenticity of divinity wasn't the issue—they were backing the Grand Duke's faction.
It seemed the false propaganda would be put to rest for now.
Once news of this spread, our shaken allied forces would no longer doubt us.
Rumors would spread that I was the Emperor's assassin, but they would realize this was a plot by the Grand Duke's faction. Even if not, could they strike those supported by the apostle of God?
Four days earlier, I had contacted Bellen.
I quickly rode Asgard's bones and asked her to bring Eilin to the capital. And so, in just two days, she brought her.
With the misunderstanding over Dark Knights and the sudden appearance of Holy Knights wielding divine light, we had no choice. We needed to prove that we were the true ones, with greater divinity.
How could anyone fake divine wings?
Whether theirs was real or not—
Ours was real divinity, too.
/ / /
I dined with Lord Watts at an inn.
The head of the palace security corps was there too.
"What happened to the Central Army commander?"
I asked.
Watts replied, "He and his staff have all fled. I ordered my two sons to capture them, so they'll surrender soon enough."
The security chief said, "Sorry. Perhaps I was just oblivious—but I had no idea the Emperor was a fake."
"That can happen,"
I said.
"I hadn't seen His Majesty in a year. He looked healthier, with a longer beard—I thought he'd recovered. In fact, a year ago, he was much more frail."
"It seems the real Emperor passed away a year ago."
"That makes sense. His appearance had changed slightly, but I just thought his health had improved. The body was someone else's—but the face, with every detail, seemed like His Imperial Majesty. I had no suspicions."
They must have skinned the dead Emperor's face.
Then they would have found someone with a similar facial structure and voice to play the fake.
"How did you find out he was a fake?"
"We had intelligence. There was insider info that His Majesty had been bedridden for two years. When he suddenly appeared healthy, it raised doubts."
"So the Grand Duke didn't assassinate him himself."
"No. When His Majesty died of illness, the Grand Duke put forth a fake."
"The Grand Duke must have caused his illness, too."
It seemed the Emperor's illness had deteriorated beyond cure. The Emperor's death wouldn't have made things too difficult for the Grand Duke, but it would have caused complications.
So he manipulated power through the imposter and deceived us all. In the end, with these events, he killed even the fake and tried to pin the Emperor's assassination on me.
On the day of the Secret Council's investigation—
I deliberately drove the fake Emperor into a corner. The witness, a palace maid, identified the "imposter" in the palace, and this incident convinced the Grand Duke to kill him.
That's why the fake Emperor panicked.
If he followed the Grand Duke's orders, he would die. If the crown prince revealed he was a fake, he could be protected by us.
In the end, the imposter chose our protection.
We woke the crown prince and had him recognize his real mother. Right after that, an arrow flew in and killed the imposter.
The fake Emperor had been anxious the whole time.
When we found evidence in the royal archives, the Emperor protested when I said I'd keep it safe for him.
It was because he'd been ordered by the Grand Duke to seize that evidence. When I insisted I'd keep it, he relented—he must have known he was doomed.
Knowing he'd be killed after being used as a fake, he was sounding us out. He could only survive if we defeated the Grand Duke, so he subtly sided with us.
"Is His Majesty's true descendant on the way?"
"Yes. With the imperial palace empty, someone must take charge. Who will announce their existence?"
Watts and the security chief exchanged glances.
"All the Secret Council elders are dead, right?"
"That's correct."
"Then the five family heads who were present at the Secret Council should make a joint announcement. Did you invite them for this purpose?"
"They've been called as witnesses for this incident."
The security chief nodded.
"Let them handle it. Their families' reputations will only grow, so they won't refuse. Madam Mien, was it? What's she like?"
"She's a formidable person."
Watts asked, "Does she have troops?"
"The Northern Army is under her control."
"I see,"
Watts said, recognizing at once—
Madam Mien was after power.
"What about His Imperial Majesty's true child? What's he like?"
"As you heard, he's a virtuous priest."
"That's a relief."
A brief silence followed.
They must have similar thoughts. It was obvious Madame Mien would serve as regent in Roman's place.
He looked at me.
"So, you'll help him?"
"That'll depend on his choice."
"Choice?"
"If he chooses to follow his real mother, madam Mien, instead of me, we'll step back."
"And if he stands by you, you'll help him."
"But only for a while. Once we find the hidden Art Syren and capture Commander Sez, we'll return."
"The Syren family is finished."
"We can't be sure yet."
The Syren family was annihilated, and most of the Grand Duke's faction with them. Even we hadn't expected them to fall so easily—the Grand Duke hadn't really built up his own strength.
Why hadn't the Grand Duke prepared more?
Was it not time yet?
It's a question that remains unresolved.
"But, tell me—"
"Go ahead."
"That woman—is she really God's apostle?"
"She is."
"She has astonishing magic power."
"I was surprised too."
Even after the battle, Lord Watts had asked about Eilin. I'd only laughed it off, since the soldiers were watching. I don't intend to say any more in the future.
"She's human, right?"
"Yes. A person chosen by God, and we traveled together for some time."
"When you went to Verttern, right?"
"Yes, that's when we met."
The meal was wrapping up.
Watts said, "I'll speak with the five family heads. If the evidence confirms he's His Majesty's descendant, I'll proclaim a new crown prince in the name of the royal family."
"I'll escort him."
"Thank you."
We finished eating and stood up.
Their faces showed a bit of concern. Now, there might be a power struggle among the remaining factions.
I have no interest in that.
As long as they don't come after us.
After they left, Donnie came over.
"How's Eilin?"
"She flew through the night to get here. She'll need at least three or four more hours of sleep."
Donnie sat across from me.
"You have no ambition, young master?"
"Become the Emperor? Me?"
Donnie just laughed.
"I don't even want to be head of the family or corps leader, and you want me to lock myself in the palace? I couldn't live like that."
"True enough. Haha."
I do have dreams of a good country.
Now just isn't the time.
"Viscount Drian said the Grand Duke is going into hiding. The person he saw in his vision may not have been the Grand Duke, but Art Syren. He'll reappear, even stronger."
The Grand Duke possessed the devil's essence.
Art Syren will take it.
"That will put the empire in grave danger."
"Even if we seize imperial power, that'll be the real crisis. Maybe that's why the Grand Duke didn't seize the military or build up his own strength."
"Are you talking about the empire's annihilation?"
"Yes. If the Holy State is to be established, it means the empire must be destroyed."
The Holy State won't absorb the existing country, but will start anew, destroying all current civilization. Cleansing everything corrupt.
So everything the Grand Duke had done was simply preparation for founding the Holy State. He needed wealth and an organization, so he seized imperial power.
Since imperial power was just a means, he didn't bother to expand it further or try to maintain it. This means preparations for the Holy State's foundation are complete.
The end of the world.
That's why God leads us.
"We won't fight as imperial soldiers. When he destroys the empire and tries to found the Holy State, that's when we'll stop him. And—"
I looked at Donnie and continued.
"The power of this empire will come to me."
"How?"
I have no intention to become Emperor.
But I will likely wield the empire's power.
It won't be for long.
Just as the Grand Duke seized imperial power to make preparations—
I, too, will use that power to prepare.
The empire is only a means for me, too.
/ / /
"How have you been?"
"Well."
Eilin smiled as she sipped her tea.
It's the first time I'd seen her in two years.
"How have you spent your time?"
"I focused on business. Started banking, trained diligently, kept myself busy."
"But—"
Eilin's magic power.
Even now, it was astonishing.
"How did divinity turn into magic?"
"I'm not sure myself. I think it's because of the osu tree. That's why I trained a lot, too."
That overwhelming divinity was now magic power.
Just like with primordial divinity, the light of divinity had transformed into pure magic power over time.
It really seems to be thanks to the osu tree.
Her magic power surpassed even our members.
Because her divinity had always been so immense.
That's not all.
"You learned buffer techniques as well?"
"Yes. While you were training, leo visited the stronghold. He learned some techniques for warrior Amir and gave me two techniques as well."
"He just gave them away for free?"
"No. He paid 100 gold coins per technique, and bought Rachrom armor and weapons—he spent a total of ten thousand gold coins."
"That's a relief."
Eilin covered her mouth and laughed.
Seems I'm still the same as ever.
"What swordsmanship did you learn?"
"Leo taught me Defender Swordsmanship with sword and shield. I think my father asked for it."
So that's why the priests learned swordsmanship too.
After finishing two years of training and going to the new territory, I'd found priests training as Holy Knights, and wondered what was going on.
It was based on Eilin.
It seems Leo told Russell as well.
"So you became a Holy Knight?"
Eilin nodded.
"Your father helped, huh?"
"Yes. It's almost hard to believe he's my real father."
"Haha."
She's not just a Holy Knight.
Her other buff effects must be impressive too.
"Can I see your skills sometime?"
"Sure."
Eilin stood up with a smile.
Do her divinity and buffer techniques have a synergy effect?
Feels like she might have surpassed me.