Side Story – Blood War [1]
[44]
The operation in Kyle Room was successful.
The mission objectives were achieved, and Johanna, the Empire’s most crucial asset, returned unscathed.
About 70% of the operatives and sharpshooters dispatched by the Empire also succeeded in returning alive.
Given that the operation had anticipated complete annihilation under certain circumstances, it could be said they had exceeded expectations.
However, despite the success of the operation, the overall situation did not improve.
On the contrary, it showed signs of rapidly deteriorating.
…
The Empire was currently making every effort to thoroughly understand the situation in the South.
After Luna reviewed the collected information and remained silent, a middle-aged cleric dressed in formal attire approached her shortly after.
The man named Atentia held the position of Archbishop and was a high-ranking cleric who had long pursued change and exhibited progressive tendencies. He was now actively cooperating with the Empire.
Without even a nod, Luna briefly asked, “…What do you think?”
…
Atentia paused silently, his expression complex.
Due to the recent operation carried out by the Empire, Speira’s “secret” had been exposed to the outside world.
Speira, whose secrets had been hidden, did not act foolishly like a villain from a fairy tale, declaring, “I will destroy the world!” and choose self-destruction.
If she had intended such foolish actions, she would not have founded the Sacred Country in the first place.
Until now, Speira had been preparing for the moment when her true identity would be revealed.
…
Although it was an unavoidable choice, granting Speira time to prepare chaos was undoubtedly fatal.
The Miraculous Sacred Maiden and wielder of the Sacred Sword had used her symbolism and power as the head of the Sacred Country to gather people around her.
Starting with those close to her, Speira brainwashed and influenced them before presenting them with doctrines of “apocalypse” or “judgment.”
The repertoire of Speira’s apocalypse doctrine wasn’t particularly unique:
[El-Lam, angered by sinful humanity, seeks to purify the world. The world will return to its primal state, but the chosen ones will be saved.]
Essentially, a great flood would sweep away everything, but following her would cleanse sins and grant passage onto the ark.
In times of peace, promoting an apocalypse doctrine wouldn’t have easily garnered much influence.
However, given the timing, compounded by the presence of a chosen being blessed by both El-Lam and evil deities…
Speira’s apocalypse doctrine quietly infiltrated and corrupted followers living through these difficult times.
Those who followed this doctrine spread so covertly that it was hard to detect their existence until now.
Moreover, since they considered themselves followers of El-Lam and genuinely were, distinguishing between “normal believers” and those who followed the doctrine was nearly impossible if they kept quiet.
Because of this, the Empire misjudged the situation.
The Empire had expected that only a small number of individuals would be swayed by Speira’s apocalypse doctrine, but the seeds of discord she planted had deeply and widely taken root across the continent.
While the Sacred Country functioned normally, they didn’t reveal any presence.
But as the Sacred Country began to collapse, they started to stir more actively.
Followers of the apocalypse doctrine were considered “heretics” from the perspective of normal believers.
Yet, surprisingly, many were swayed by the heretical voice.
The relentless bloodshed under the red sky had left the hearts of the continent’s people desolate.
Atentia too recognized that the situation was far from ordinary.
“…It is a trial bestowed by El-Lam.”
…
“El-Lam never bestows trials that cannot be overcome.”
…
“We must cease our conflicts, repent, and overcome the trials we’ve been given.”
Ultimately, the “trial” Atentia spoke of was a rationale to suppress the apocalypse doctrine.
Even if it wasn’t entirely convincing, the Empire had to push forward with Atentia’s rationale.
Vilifying Speira as merely a defector corrupted by evil deities was almost impossible at present.
After Speira’s true identity was revealed, El-Lam more overtly supported her, revealing his will.
Thus, vilifying Speira as simply a fallen traitor became a difficult task.
…
Fortunately, whether one was a “normal cleric” or a “heretic” following the apocalypse doctrine, prayers could still be answered with blessings.
This was ultimately due to the mechanism of El-Lam’s power.
Prayer and blessings were phenomena arising from the powers reflecting the essence of the transcendent entity known as El-Lam, which even El-Lam couldn’t undo completely unless he chose to withdraw entirely from the world.
Regardless, El-Lam could adjust how much blessing and power he granted to specific individuals according to his will.
Currently, some clerics secretly following the apocalypse doctrine basked in the intensified blessings of El-Lam.
…
It was difficult to predict when or where these fanatics might emerge and cause problems.
Luna roughly understood what Speira was up to but found the severity of the situation worse than expected.
Even Luna struggled to precisely calculate the madness humans could embrace when pushed to extremes.
Moreover, it was impossible to exclude clerics from key positions.
Suppressing clerics during a bloody war would only hasten their downfall.
Ultimately, the two factions of believers would continue to call each other heretics and fight for true salvation until the war ended.
However, the salvation they sought did not exist.
This was no different from a meaningless dogfight among abandoned puppies.
“…Understood. Proceed as reported.”
Luna dismissed Atentia.
The Sacred Country had collapsed, but Speira’s carefully prepared chaos was undeniably effective.
Therefore, there was no choice but to suppress the confusion by advocating Atentia’s concept of “trial” for now.
Creak-
As Luna remained in place, Hayden came to her next.
Hayden summarized the current situation in the South for Luna.
“The South falling under control… seems unavoidable.”
Until now, the South, where the Sacred Country had been established, had remained almost unscathed despite inferior forces compared to the Empire because Speira indirectly controlled the movements of demons and monsters.
However, after the Empire’s operation succeeded, followers of the evil deity began attacking the southern front earnestly.
Moreover, Speira, whose identity was now revealed, stopped hiding and openly promoted “apocalypse” or “judgment,” causing extreme chaos.
Consequently, the South, which had entered a quasi-civil war state, saw its command structure almost completely collapse without engaging in proper battles, surrendering territories unilaterally.
Due to the severe chaos, the Empire faced limitations in gathering intelligence on the South.
Nonetheless, one thing was clear: the landmass in the South under the Sacred Country’s influence was on the verge of being lost entirely.
Some had escaped, others were isolated, and yet others chose to side with Speira—essentially, it was a mess.
“…Reclaiming the granary regions will likely be difficult.”
The remaining granary regions in the South were lost early in the crisis.
Additionally, the erosion from the Demonic Realm had begun, and the already narrow southern front lines were expected to stretch several times longer.
Since the area inhabited by elves, where the World Tree existed, needed to be protected from division, the Empire had to endure the extended front lines.
Hayden felt he could sum up the ongoing situation in one sentence.
This is… fucked. There’s no clearer explanation than that.
At least the White Tower entering trial operations was good news.
However, if the “Demon King,” akin to a colossal calamity, began moving soon… the situation would become even more pessimistic.
Excluding the existence of “Luna,” this was already a lost war.
The question was how much longer they could endure, as victory and defeat had already been decided.
Hayden looked at Luna with a slightly troubled expression.
“Will you be alright?”
“…I’ll be fine.”
Both Luna and Hayden had anticipated the situation turning this way.
Ever since Speira seized the Sacred Sword and dominated areas near the South, securing the region without direct intervention from Luna had become impossible.
Hayden, who had been close to Luna, knew this fact intellectually but still felt a bit unsettled facing the loss of the South.
However, upon hearing Luna’s calm voice, Hayden slowly nodded.
“Understood.”
It was impossible to sustain a prolonged war under such conditions.
The front lines would inevitably retreat as time went on.
Still, Luna responded that there was no problem, and Hayden trusted her.
*
“Ah… it’s tough…!”
Johanna complained.
Her grumble echoed briefly, but the one seated on the throne didn’t flinch.
Johanna smirked while waiting for a response that never came.
“How much longer do I have to wait?”
Again, there was no reply.
Johanna scratched her cheek. She didn’t want to wait too long.
In the past, she feared that Ray might never wake up.
But now, another fear had crept in.
Someday, when you wake up. When you look at me and feel unfamiliar. That’s what scares me a little.
Ray remained unchanged as Johanna gazed at him.
Ray hadn’t changed in any way, but Johanna was gradually drifting further away from the past.
Worrying that she might no longer be the person Ray knows, Johanna wiped her face with both hands after a brief silence.
“…”
You need to become stronger than me, Ray once said.
Johanna reddened her eyes before breaking into a smile and standing up.
“If you keep sleeping like this… what are you going to do when I really become stronger than you?”
If that day ever comes, Johanna vowed to take revenge for all she had endured.
To embarrass him, treat him like a child, hold onto his waist and spin him around without letting go.
Dreaming of such petty revenge, Johanna faced Ray.
At that moment, a familiar sound approached from behind Johanna.
Delun smiled and spoke.
“You’re here again?”
“…Didn’t you find the artifact of the dwarves this time?”
“Yes. Well… luck… was on my side.”
“Then you’ve improved since the old days?”
“Of course, Sister. Compared to the old days… I can probably contribute something now, right?”
Delun’s somewhat ambiguous answer made Johanna quirk a playful smile.
“If you’re confident, show me something.”
“Hmm… then, Sister, how about a round of card games with me?”
Suddenly, a card game?
Johanna tilted her head before smiling and nodding.
“Alright. Let’s play.”
Johanna and Delun waved goodbye to Ray with smiles on their faces and left the throne room.
Until the moment the door to the throne room closed, both maintained bright expressions.
However, the cold determination in their eyes above their smiling lips betrayed the knowledge they shared.
A time far bloodier than the seven years of warfare ahead loomed, and neither of them was unaware.
