Demonic Rule (1)
The Pope was silent for a while.
A legendary elixir in a relic containing divine power.
Leon’s request seemed a little too greedy at first glance, but considering the value of the technology Leon developed, it wasn’t too much.
But the problem was the eyes around them.
Relics are literally sacred objects that God has left for mankind.
Even when it comes to the seeds of divinity, it is an elixir that can awaken the divine power even to unqualified people, so it was also an object that was recovered and managed by the Holy Empire even by using drastic means.
No matter how much power of the Pope, Andrea Zerotes, was mobilized, it was impossible to give such items to outsiders.
Even more complicated was the question of whether Leon Farostel could be treated as an outsider.
Sir Paladin Cindy, if it is true that she is now a saint, she is said to have been told by the heavenly gods to serve Leon with us.
If so, wouldn’t it be okay to treat him as a member of the Holy Empire, Saint Lane?
But this was a sensitive issue.
The Holy Empire is clearly a huge and powerful country.
Even the Millennium Empire, Ibrium, which is known to have the strongest military power on the continent, never treats Saint Lane, the Holy Empire, indifferently.
However, the Holy Empire, as large as it was, had complicated circumstances.
For example, in general, the political arena of countries is divided into two or three factions.
nobility and royalty.
hard-line and moderate.
Or neutrals who do not belong to either of them.
On the other hand, the Holy Empire was divided into seven or more factions.
The religion that Leon experienced in the modern world is that there is usually one absolute God.
They are the same beings as Zeus in Greek and Roman mythology and Odin in Norse mythology.
However, there are 7 gods appearing in the myth of the Radiant Continent.
The celestial gods say that they all created the world from the same position and with equal capacity, create life and sustain the laws of all things.
Naturally, all the believers who served them had no choice but to share that the god they believed in was the best, which made the position of the Pope as the highest authority in the Holy Empire difficult.
‘for now······.’
Cindy’s judgment of not publicly revealing the contents of the revelation was correct.
Saint Lane, the Holy Empire, where it was difficult to unify its will, had many restrictions on change and movement.
No one could have predicted what kind of response would be given if he came to St. Lane and gave a command he had never heard before, a revelation to serve humans as gods.
Of course, the majority of the clergy will follow the revelation, but some extreme forces may reject the blasphemy demon Leon, who wants to become a god, saying that humans cannot become gods.
So, saying that the contents of the revelation are hidden, the Pope had to arrange his position as the Pope on how to deal with the revelation.
In the first place, to whom are the words of God’s revelation?
If Cindy was instructed to ‘serve Leon like a god’ as a saint, should all subjects living in the Holy Empire serve Leon as a god?
The Pope did not think so.
According to the contents of the revelations that have been recorded in the Holy Empire so far, the subject of the revelation is limited to the person who received the revelation.
In other words, the gods in the heavens referred to Cindy and told him to serve Leon as a god, but even the Pope had no reason to serve Leon as a god.
The Pope, having finished organizing his thoughts, opened his mouth.
“Unfortunately, relics and seeds of divinity are not things that can be freely given to outsiders.”
The Pope’s reaction was something that Lyon had also expected.
“But there must be a way.”
The pope had no choice but to laugh as he looked into the eyes of Leon, who seemed to have no intention of breaking his will.
“Yes, there is a way. You just have to prove yourself that Lord Leon is not the enemy of Saint Lane, the Holy Empire.”
“Prove you are not enemies?”
If so, did you mean that you had been suspicious of the enemy until now?
No, according to the Pope, he is still doubting that he is an enemy.
Leon looked around again.
Those standing next to the Pope are cardinals who once accumulated great military training as paladins and priests.
Around it, the Archbishops, who were the highest clerics equal to Amelie, were gathered around it, and the Guard Knights were lined up around it.
And the unknown tension floating between them.
Leon then realized.
‘Are you limiting my abilities?’
Leon’s abilities are far superior to those developed by humans on their own.
The elders of the Philo Kingdom roughly summarized the reason that Leon was a Yongin tribe, but the Holy Empire Saint Lane did not seem to have any intention of arranging it so roughly.
‘You’re doubting that I’m not a demon who serves demons.’
If you think about it, it was a reasonable doubt.
A 12-year-old boy who can’t feel the blessings of heaven, yet he uses the power of God.
If you were asked where such a young boy got such an ability, the most realistic answer would be the Demon Realm.
Leon said with an interesting smile.
“good. If that is the case, I am confident.”
* * *
In Leon’s opinion, the Pope did not initially feel dissatisfied with the offer to Leon.
It was necessary to pay attention to the eyes of the people around him and give him a reward.
So, how can we prove that Leon is not the enemy of Saint Lane, the Holy Empire?
The method Leon thought of was simple.
As a member of the Holy Empire, Saint Lane, he participates in the war and builds up his skills.
Since it is said that the enemy’s enemy is your friend, if you indiscriminately slaughter demons and demons that you despise extremely in the Holy Empire Saint Lane, wouldn’t it be possible to convince you that ‘even if not on the same side, at least not on the side of the demon realm’?
Thus, the battlefield that Leon chose was none other than the Demon War.
At present, the southernmost part of the Radiant Continent was occupied by the Demon Realm, and based there, they were doing their best to suppress the forces of the Demon Realm moving north.
In addition, the Millennium Empire Ibrium and the Holy Empire Saint Lane launched a counterattack to reclaim the stolen land, and the Demon Conquest was also a part of that.
The forces of the Demon Realm were invading from the Demon Realm to the Human Realm by borrowing the power of the Demon God to open a dimensional rift.
If so, on the contrary, it started with the thought that if we borrowed the power of the gods, humans would also be able to invade the demon realm.
This time, the land heading for the Demon Slayer was called like this.
The nest of decay.
Recently, the number of monsters using poison in the vicinity of the Holy Empire has increased rapidly.
According to the words of the Elyos who descended in response to the summoning technique of the Holy Empire, a new kind of monster was born in the Demon Realm, and if they were infected with the magic that they sprayed, they would be reborn as poisonous monsters.
So, the Elyos gave the monster the name Venom Queen, the Queen of Poison, and the Holy Empire gave it an S grade.
Venom Queen’s combat abilities have not yet been revealed, but it meant that the subjugation of the gnome was important.
The nest of decay was the place where the Venom Queen was expected to inhabit, and the purpose of this subjugation was to subdue the Venom Queen.
As important as the mission is, all seven denominations serving the Seven Lords expressed their intention to participate in the war.
The gods who govern the sky and the sun, the fire and the sea, the wind and the earth, and the lightning.
Among them, Leon joined the camp serving the lightning god Pastro.
Their representative was a young woman.
“It’s nice to see you like this. My name is Lana Cromwell.”
Lady of Lightning, Lana Cromwell.
That name was also familiar to Leon.
The nightmare of the blind, the one nicknamed the scream of the deaf.
But Lana Cromwell had a modest demeanor and a beautiful appearance that did not fit such a dreadful nickname.
The reason she was given such a nickname was none other than that her abilities were so terrifying to those who turned her into enemies.
Above all, when she went to battle, there was almost no one who could see her directly among the enemies.
A nightmare for the blind.
The flash of light emitted from her whole body was so bright that she couldn’t see her face to face, and if enough time has passed to look at her for a long time, her body would already be on fire after being struck by lightning.
On the other hand, the name Deaf’s Scream was an expression of those who felt fear and ran away from her inaction.
Deaf to the thunder from her, and if she turns her back on her and runs away, all she can do is scream.
The deaf people, who were deaf from the sound of thunder even after screaming and screaming, could not hear their own screams and screamed louder and louder.
“It is an honor to meet you like this. My name is Leon Farostel.”
“Oh. Do you know me?”
“Because I have heard of Lana-sama’s reputation as a magician who deals with lightning.”
At Leon’s reaction, Lana dyed her face red.
“Oh my. Shame on you.”
Perhaps she herself was familiar with such a nickname.
No matter how you look at it, it doesn’t fit her nickname.
However, it would be a bad habit to judge only by the outward appearance.
The troops she led are 12 paladins and 20 priests.
They were called the White Cloud Knights and the Black Woon Priests, respectively.
And by Leon’s side, Veronica and Cindy were with them.
Cindy was a saint who received a revelation from the gods in the heavens to ‘serve Leon’ directly, and was following Leon in earnest after she retired from the position of commander of the Changchun Holy Knights.
Of course, in order to faithfully carry out the revelation, you have to officially make an oath to Leon to become an apostle, a servant who serves and serves like an apprentice knight, but it was becoming difficult to speak out because of the delay.
That’s right, God’s revelation is important, but faith isn’t something that can be changed as easily as the heart.
In the end, Cindy’s erratic attitude only made her position more difficult.
But Lana was looking at Cindy with a strange expression.
Cindy, conscious of that gaze, asked with a bewildered voice.
“Well, is there anything you are concerned about? Lady?”
“It is nothing. Lady.”
It was only then that Cindy realized that she was a saint by the name of Lana.
It has been a month since I became a saint, perhaps because my life as a relatively crude paladin has been prolonged, but it was still difficult to adapt to that status.
And soon the demonic warfare began.
An Elyos poured out his divine power on the huge magic circle he had drawn in advance.
When that power reached its critical point, the magic circle lit up and filled the air, and it concentrated and pierced the dimension, creating a rift.
A dimensional rift created by demons ordinarily, a deep darkness that could not be compared to the dungeon was flowing from there.
However, the Elyos who activated the magic circle shouted with a troubled expression as if they had done their best by opening the dimensional rift.
“Go ahead! Light our way by burning with a handful of ashes those who go against the will of heaven!”
wow!
With him, the paladins and priests poured into the dimensional rift.
Leon looked at the scene with a puzzled expression.
It is difficult to predict what lies beyond the original dimension rift.
Because of this, it was common to approach them with a keen sense of touch, alertness, and caution, but they had an attitude that they were not afraid of even death.
Perhaps that is the most fearful thing about this Holy Empire, Saint Lane.
Who would hesitate to say that the gods who make the world and rule fate will guarantee life after death?
However, only the Church of Lightning out of the 7 Churches did not go to the Demon Realm, but looked at him as if respecting Leon’s attitude.
“Then shall we go?”
In response to Lana Cromwell’s question, Leon approached the dimensional rift with a calm attitude and made his way through the fragments of space.
Now, the familiar five senses were cut off, and the sensation of bouncing in the body passed, and what unfolded before Leon’s eyes was a vast, hellish spectacle.