Kail, who had escaped the Holy Kingdom, headed straight to his own territory. Now, he couldn’t even trust the Academy anymore. If there was any safety to be found, it would be in his territory, where loyal soldiers and knights awaited him.
‘As much as I’d like to head straight to the North…’
The Holy Kingdom and the North were too far apart. Rushing to the North without rest would put undue strain on his pregnant wife. Kail decided to rest in the Earl Mayer’s territory, just in case.
And that turned out to be the right choice. Upon arriving at his territory, two pieces of news reached Kail. One: the Holy Kingdom had finally fallen. The other—
“The Pope is dead, and the Virgin Saintess has been kidnapped?”
“Yes, Master.”
“What? How could they get utterly crushed in their own stronghold?”
Kail stared at the knight who brought the news with disbelief. The power of the Holy Knights, backed by the Holy Kingdom, was formidable enough to make even a Master think twice.
Weren’t they blessed by the Sovereign God, who watched over them with eyes wide open? It should have been an unwinnable environment for their enemies. And yet, the entire Knight Order was wiped out, the Pope killed, and the Virgin Saintess kidnapped?
‘Does this even make sense?’
It was as if someone’s malicious plot had caused the dice rolled by God to land on the worst outcomes repeatedly. Otherwise, how could such impossible events keep happening until the kingdom was utterly destroyed?
Kail let out a low groan, contemplating whether he should support the Holy Kingdom. He didn’t worship the Evil God or anything, but it seemed like Heavenly Fortune was pushing the Sovereign God aside.
He worried that getting involved might only bring harm to himself.
‘If it were just me, I’d charge in without hesitation…’
He glanced sideways at Yuri, far away talking to his father. His father treated her like a precious treasure.
Handling her like fragile porcelain that might break if touched wrong, his father fumbled around, unsure how to deal with his pregnant daughter-in-law.
“My dear, are you uncomfortable at all?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Tell me anything you need. I’ll get it for you no matter what.”
“Father, you’re making me nervous. Could you please go somewhere far away?”
“Th-that…”
Just then, Yuri, who had chased the Earl away, faced Kail with a soft smile. A smile so beautiful it banished all distracting thoughts. Seeing it, Kail realized once again that this mission was something he absolutely shouldn’t undertake.
‘Saintess or not, she’s still someone else.’
He had something to protect.
A new family. A beloved wife and child.
* * *
“Kaaiiil—! Why won’t you go!?”
Several more days passed. Empires and kingdoms organized an alliance to retake the Holy Kingdom and began gathering Allied Forces. Armies from all over the world started converging to reclaim the Holy Kingdom.
Their strength was indeed powerful enough to crush the terrorists plaguing the Holy Kingdom, but to Kail, it felt sluggish. If they truly intended to reclaim the Holy Kingdom, they should have sent troops immediately instead of wasting time organizing an alliance.
They should have temporarily set aside national defense and thrown every Master from the Empire and the Kingdom into the fight to drive out the terrorists in one fell swoop. That’s what Kail thought.
“You think you can defeat terrorists with something like this?”
“Forming an alliance to defeat a single enemy happens often—even on Earth.”
“Right. And what do you think modern humans on Earth value most?”
“…What?”
“Speed warfare.”
In the 21st century, humanity realized that the most important things in war were information and speed. Specifically, information was paramount, and acting quickly before that information changed was crucial.
That’s where the concept of speed warfare came from. The most important thing was information, followed by the ability to act on it swiftly.
But what about the actions of this alliance?
“They’re not even trying to gather intel on the enemy, nor are they thinking about using the information they already have.”
It was a rigid medieval mindset that believed sheer numbers and strength alone could win battles. It was also the perfect recipe for rushing in blindly and getting annihilated.
“You want me to join a unit that’s obviously going to fail and rescue the Virgin Saintess?”
“You don’t have to join the army! You can form a special ops team!”
“A special ops team? Do you think that’s as easy as it sounds?”
Kail shot Sera a wry laugh. This was why those shut-ins who doodled magic circles in their rooms were useless. Bookworms who thought the battlefield operated purely on theory.
Unlike magic, where everything follows predetermined rules, real-life situations always unfold in unpredictable ways, beyond anyone’s imagination.
Form a special ops team to rescue the Virgin Saintess? Easier said than done.
“It’s been half a month since the Holy Kingdom fell. We have no idea what those inside are doing or planning.”
It had long been revealed that the Evil God Cult attacked the Holy Kingdom. Even without Kail recounting what he saw and heard there, it wasn’t as if the continent was full of fools.
But while individuals could be smart, groups often weren’t. When individuals banded together to form a group, the collective intelligence was usually only slightly smarter than its dumbest member.
Brilliant analysts had uncovered the identity of the enemy and devised appropriate strategies, but political rivalries between nations and humanity’s aversion to losses had ruined everything.
“That’s exactly why you need to go!”
“No, why exactly?”
“If the Hero rescues the Virgin Saintess, the sluggish Allied Forces will finally snap out of it!”
“I don’t want to move based on reasons like that. Don’t forget, I’m human too.”
Aura Master or not, superhuman or not, he was still human. A creature driven by desire and instinct.
If there was no benefit to himself, he wouldn’t move.
Hearing this, Sera smiled as if things had gone perfectly according to plan and gave Kail a reason to act.
“It’s simple. If you don’t move, this world will end.”
“…What are you talking about now?”
“Why do you think the Evil God Cult targeted the Holy Kingdom? What’s the point of deploying apostles and pouring all their resources into a plan that might fail?”
As Sera said, under normal circumstances, the Evil God Cult should have been suppressed without achieving anything. But what was the reality? Whether by divine prank or fate, the cult had managed to destroy the Holy Kingdom and capture the Virgin Saintess.
The “Virgin Saintess,” the terminal most deeply connected to the gods.
“She’s like an avatar capable of unleashing divine power on this earth.”
A being who spreads the Sovereign God’s power across the world. If the Evil God got their hands on such a being, the consequences were clear without needing to see them.
“In other words, it means the Evil God can descend upon this world more easily.”
Just as the Virgin Saintess wielded the power of angels after receiving the Sovereign God’s blessing when the Evil God’s influence ravaged the duchy—the Evil God could infuse their power into the Virgin Saintess.
This meant the virus-like corrupting power of the Evil God could spread far and wide. And if the Evil God’s influence spread as widely as the Holy Kingdom’s former reach…
“It’s world destruction.”
“…You.”
“How’s that? At this point, even your heavy butt should feel motivated to move, right?”
Indeed, at this point, Kail couldn’t just sit still anymore.
* * *
“Master, I need Masters.”
Deciding to form a special ops team, Kail muttered as he recalled the number of Masters he could summon. Excluding Yuri, who couldn’t fight due to her pregnancy, there was himself, Jerry, Duke Walter (though he refused help), the Academy Headmaster, and Gawein.
Though Merlin and the Great Witch Rizelotte had told him not to ask for help, they likely wouldn’t ignore the threat of world destruction. That made seven in total.
Add the two Aura Masters owned by the Empire, and you had nine. Borrow a few more from various countries, and you could operate with double-digit Masters.
‘But that’s all theoretical… These guys aren’t likely to cooperate willingly.’
Humans weren’t rational beings. Like the madman who would plant an apple tree even knowing the world would end tomorrow, many prioritized their own safety over the survival of humanity.
And this wasn’t even a visible crisis like a meteor strike or natural disaster—it was the questionable threat of the “Evil God’s descent.” Convincing people to act against something invisible was even harder.
“Considering the dragon we faced, seven seems insufficient…”
“Should we call the kids?”
“The kids? …You mean the Holy Weapons?”
“Yeah. Of course, they won’t come just because we call. We need to find their leader.”
“There’s a leader? What kind of guy is he?”
“A green-haired sorcerer. Long-haired man named Feyna…”
“…Who?”
Kail looked at Jerry incredulously. Feyna? Wasn’t that one of Merlin’s alternate personalities?
‘That guy was the leader of the Holy Weapons?’
What a coincidence.
Various ideas on how to use this situation flashed through Kail’s mind.
