Chapter 70
After studying and handling her duties through the night, Almeine had unknowingly dozed off with her head resting on the desk. Suddenly, her eyes flew open.
She blinked a few times, then, her expression paling, rushed urgently to her father.
“Father!!”
The Emperor, who had also been buried in state affairs, looked up at his disheveled daughter and let out a soft chuckle.
“Fell asleep at your desk again, didn’t you? I admire your passion for learning statecraft, but take care not to overwork yourself…”
“Demon worshippers have appeared in the Scrap Yard!! Iomene used Dulanier’s power to teleport there and is currently engaged in battle!”
“The Scrap Yard, you say?”
Almeine nodded and immediately began sharing real-time intel with the Emperor.
“The Saint was found collapsed in the basement, and a massive pillar of light bearing Goddess Lilia’s sigil is now illuminating the entire city. Thanks to that light, all the demon worshippers and dark sorcerers in the city can no longer hide—they’ve been forced to reveal their true forms. The Celestial Legion of the White Order is currently engaged with them!”
At her words, the Emperor sprang into action.
“Summon the commander of the Black Fortress—immediately!!”
Less than twenty minutes later, a man appeared before the Emperor.
He was lean and muscular, with an emotionless face. His appearance was unremarkable, almost bland—but he was the one who knew the most secrets within the empire.
“Give your orders.”
Without a greeting, Otto Delmarc, commander of the Black Fortress, asked in a flat tone.
It was borderline disrespectful, but neither he nor the Emperor gave it a second thought. Otto was not a man who existed for politeness, and both of them understood that perfectly.
“Demon worshippers have appeared in the Scrap Yard.”
“What are your orders regarding them?”
“Exterminate them.”
“How far am I permitted to go?”
“Deploy the soulless.”
“It will be done.”
The conversation ended there.
And just as their exchange concluded, Almeine raised her voice.
“Father! Please allow me to go to the scene as well!”
“It’s too dangerous, Almeine.”
“There are three reasons I must go. First, I can communicate with Iomene in real time. That will be extremely useful for understanding the battlefield. Second, I need to build merit if I am to become your rightful successor. Third, I have connections in the Royal Court, the Pantheon, the Mage Tower, and even the Karma Company.”
Almeine’s voice brimmed with conviction.
“I can assist in suppressing the demon worshippers, and I’m in the perfect position to coordinate among the various factions that will inevitably become involved. Afterward, I can also contribute to the city’s reconstruction. Father—please trust me.”
The Emperor looked at his daughter, so firm in her resolve, and gave her a curious smile.
He didn’t hesitate for long.
“Otto.”
“Your command, Your Majesty?”
“Take Almeine with you. Follow her orders. From this moment forward, she acts as my proxy.
She has full authority to resolve the Scrap Yard incident.”
“It will be done.”
“Both of you—go. At once.”
Without a word, Otto turned and hurried out of the room. Almeine gave her father a brief nod, then quickly followed him.
“Otto, how fast can we reach the Scrap Yard?”
“We’ll use the Black Fortress’s airship. From the capital to the Scrap Yard, it will take approximately five hours.”
“Is there no faster option?”
“A teleportation spell might work for a small unit, but large-scale teleportation of the entire airship and its forces is still impossible.”
At that, Almeine stopped in her tracks.
“Load the troops onto the airship and begin preparing for combat. I’ll make a quick trip to the Mage Tower.”
She smiled.
“Because I happen to know a witch who can teleport an entire airship.”
After a few more summons, the entire Celestial Legion of the White Order had been deployed to the Scrap Yard.
And their leader had arrived as well.
“I have come in response to your summons, O Saint.”
A skull-shaped helm distinguished him from the other members of Quattuor.
A massive silver shield.
And an equally massive greatsword.
It was the moment Al Madai, Grandmaster of the Legiones Quattuor, had been summoned to the Scrap Yard.
“Where are the demons I’m to rip apart? Give me the order! I’ll go immediately and make them all repent!! Ooooh, Dulanier ! I’ve long awaited this day! I’ve been tearing apart small fry for so long—finally, a real fight!”
Seeing his childlike excitement, Iomene rubbed the back of her neck with a look that screamed migraine incoming.
“Just give the order, Saint! I’ll wipe out every single suspicious person in this city!!”
As Al Madai shouted, Iomene raised her hand to stop him.
“Thanks to the light pillar, the demon worshippers and dark sorcerers can no longer conceal their identities. Focus only on verified enemies. Minimize collateral damage. Understood, Al Madai-nim ?”
“Excuse me? But that goes against the Codex Prolilium! Saint! All suspicious persons must be rounded up and forced to repent!!”
At his increasingly loud protests, Iomene began rubbing her neck even faster.
“Last time, in the southern provinces, you injured the heir of a powerful noble house doing exactly that. I had to speak to Father myself to resolve the issue, remember?”
“.......”
“I’m not saying to go against the Codex. But how many times have I told you—you need to understand the true intent of Dulanier that lies within it.”
“……”
“The Codex was written during a time when the threat of demons was far more severe than it is now. Back then, it made sense to risk collateral damage to apprehend their followers. But things are different now. We must protect those we can. Besides, this time, we can clearly distinguish friend from foe.”
“But the Codex Prolilium…”
Finally, Iomene lost her temper at the frustrating reply.
“Grandmaster!! Did the Codex tell you to obey me or not?!”
“It did.”
“Then obey me! Minimize collateral damage! Don’t let any harm come to civilians! If any of the Quattuor members injure even a single innocent worker here, you’re grounded for a year. No deployments.”
Al Madai’s eyes widened in horror.
“A-anything but that!! I must make the heretics repent for Dulanier’s glory!”
“Then don’t cause any more disasters!! You’re not a child!! I’ve been in the Order for less than a year, and in under a month, I’ve already had to clean up after you three times! Three!! Is there anything you’re good at besides fighting?! You’ve been in the Order longer than High Priestess Miromel, and yet all you’ve achieved is being a Celestial Legion Commander!!”
“……”
“Follow my orders. Only go after the confirmed demon worshippers and dark sorcerers. Got it?”
Al Madai hung his head low.
“But the Codex Prolilium…”
“Shut up!! Go kill some demons!! I’ll assign you every company except the 1st and 4th! I’ll handle the surface—you lead the rest down into the underground mines! Most of the demon worshippers have retreated down there because of the light pillar!”
At that, the gloom in Al Madai’s voice abruptly lifted.
“To the underground mines?”
“Yes. Also, there’s a terrible stench coming from that direction. Most likely, their base is located underground. I’m ordering you to wipe them out. Leave none of the demon worshippers or dark sorcerers alive. Understood?”
Suddenly grinning like nothing had happened, Al Madai pounded his chest with both fists.
“By your command, Saint! I shall make them repent at once!”
Iomene gave him a long, weary look that all but screamed I want to cry, then turned to Karl Lenaro.
“Please escort him to the mine entrance.”
“Pol! Guide him to the mine entrance!”
Immediately, a laborer stepped forward and joined Al Madai, who gleefully hoisted his greatsword and shield before marching off.
“It is time!! Time for repentance, heretics!!”
As the thunder of his footsteps faded, Karl Lenaro stood there, dumbfounded.
“…Truly… um… reassuring, Princess.”
“You’re free to just call him a brainless idiot, Mr. Karl Lenaro.”
While Karl Lenaro gave a sheepish chuckle, Iomene looked off in the direction where Al Madai and the rest of the Quattuor had vanished.
“The White Order really is a chaotic bunch. Calling them loose cannons is putting it mildly. But…”
A group so obsessed with purging demons and evil gods that their zeal constantly led to disasters.
That, in Iomene’s view, was the true nature of the White Order.
But despite all their chaos and constant incidents, the White Order remained a major faction within the Pantheon. The royal family and nobility continued to grant them special privileges, and unless the damage was truly catastrophic, they were often let off the hook.
“For all their faults, they’re the most powerful demon and evil god hunters I’ve ever seen. Whatever’s waiting down there in the mines… it won’t stand a chance against them.”
Meanwhile, deep beneath the earth…
Driven underground by the pillar of light, the demon worshippers and dark sorcerers gasped for air inside the mine.
Most were badly injured from their prolonged exposure to divine power.
But what was even more terrifying—was that they could no longer feel Mammon’s power at all.
“What the hell happened…? Damn it all!!”
One of the dark sorcerers cursed.
The plan had been going perfectly.
Then it all unraveled in an instant.
Mammon’s power hadn’t just waned—it had nearly vanished. And being hit with such overwhelming divine force had left many of them wounded.
It made no sense.
But there was no time to figure out what went wrong.
“Dulanier!! That mad god’s dogs are coming!!”
“Son of a—!”
One of the dark sorcerers, unable to conceal his form, shouted at the already-mutated abominations in the room.
“Go! Hold them off! We need time! I’ll awaken what’s still being prepared underground!!”
[Understood, High Priest.]
While the followers ran to intercept the incoming Quattuor, the dark sorcerer hurried deeper into the mine.
There, in a shadowed corner…
A magic circle drawn in blood came into view.
“Please. Please, hurry…”
The dark sorcerer hurriedly gathered residual grudges and poured them into the summoning circle.
Gunfire—loud and thunderous like cannons—echoed closer with every passing second, accompanied by screams.
His hands moved faster, more desperately.
And finally…
At the very last second, the ritual completed.
“Answer my call!!”
A blinding light burst from the magic circle—then suddenly, a wet, sickly sensation filled the air as a dark portal slowly unfurled. From within it, figures began to emerge, step by grotesque step.
A putrid stench of rot.
Massive, hulking bodies.
The squelch of flesh and the sound of shambling decay.
This was the final fate of those who had offered their souls to Mammon in pursuit of greed.
The Corrupted Ones.
Because Mammon’s granted power had been severely diminished, only a few hundred emerged instead of the thousands that should have come. But still—it was better than nothing.
“Go! Feast upon the enemies of your master—graaaaack!!”
A gunshot, deafening enough to tear the sky apart, rang out.
The dark sorcerer exploded where he stood.
Having exhausted all his hatred to summon the Corrupted Ones, he had no strength left—and so he died, unable to resist.
The Corrupted Ones shuffled toward his corpse, tearing off chunks of flesh to devour. Then, as if possessed by madness, they let out a bone-chilling roar and charged toward the Celestial Legion.
“Disgusting lumps of Mammon’s flesh!!”
Upon seeing them, Al Madai pushed through his troops and strode to the front.
His shield and sword began to glow with powerful holy light.
“Lower your guns and draw your swords and hammers, brothers! Bullets are useless against these rotting beasts! Igniter squads of each company—step forward and burn them down!”
At his command, the Quattuor warriors holstered their pistols and drew their melee weapons.
The Igniter squads—paladins equipped with massive tanks on their backs—stepped up. With a snap of their fingers, volatile fuel mixed with high-grade elixir sprayed from their hands, igniting the moment it came into contact with Dulanier’s holy power.
Brilliant blue flames flared to life in their palms—then surged forward, hurled at the rotting masses.
Agonizing screams erupted.
But not a single Quattuor warrior flinched.
They charged forward.
Slicing and smashing through burning flesh with swords and hammers, they drove their assault deeper.
Al Madai roared:
“We are the sword! We are wrath! We are the last thing you will see upon this earth!
Brothers—do not falter!!”
He swung his greatsword.
The radiant, holy blade cleaved through the Corrupted Ones, bisecting them with ease.
He let out a bestial howl.
“Rip and slay until Dulanier has had his fill!!”
Fire and steel.
Flesh and fury.
They collided in a whirlwind of chaos and carnage.
Join Our Patreon
Support our translations and gain early access.
Read up to 10 chapters ahead before the official
release!