The Protagonists of Romance Fantasy Novels Have Escaped - Chapter 119
119 – 119. Divine Descent (1)
The chosen heroes of the One True God all turned around.
The sharp tip of the holy sword, which had punished the Demon King’s army and the cultist forces, began to point toward the Holy Kingdom.
They would think of it as a monumental betrayal.
The beings who had turned into adversaries were the heroes and the saint, symbolizing the divinity of the One True God.
‘If the Great One joins us… we have a good chance.’
To discuss the odds against Ilkeron Nebiacus and Cyrel Veiled was the height of arrogance. They had reigned as the sword of the Holy Kingdom, akin to demigods symbolizing the majesty of the One True God.
But—.
Maximilian had turned to our side.
As he appeared, the atmosphere shifted in an instant.
The footsteps of the paladins, who had repeatedly charged forward despite the white dragon’s lightning striking from the sky, grew heavy. They had witnessed the strongest hero in history turn against them.
Jeblin let out a sigh of relief after enduring a fierce standoff against the forces of the Holy Kingdom. She turned her gaze toward the Hoenberk brothers.
—I’ll take the lead, so just follow me.
“That’s your role, brother. Step back.”
Edanant and Maximilian elbowed each other, volunteering to take the first strike.
Could they truly cooperate?
Given their history of bickering and fighting, doubt and anxiety crept in.
“How dare they…! I’ll take them all down at once!!”
Cyril, perceiving the childish antics of Edanant and Maximilian as a provocation, raised his sword high.
As he lifted the blade, a fierce whirlwind began to swirl.
It was a crimson storm infused with divine essence.
The violent wind, maximizing its lethality, swept across the ground like a beast’s claws, targeting Edanant and Maximilian.
“I’ll stop it.”
—Do as you please!
Maximilian swung his holy swords with both hands, countering the crimson storm.
At the same time, Edanant fired off hundreds of muskets in unison, launching a counterattack.
“Master, I will hold off the apostates!”
“I’m fine. I can fight.”
If they failed to stop the apostates now, the capture of the First Saint would become impossible forever. This was a special operation mobilizing all the cardinals, and it had to succeed.
It was the will of the Great One.
He would soon descend upon the earth.
The appointed time was drawing near.
Thus, they had to fulfill the Great One’s command by any means necessary.
Ilkeron and Cyril crossed the battlefield, deflecting the countless bullets raining down. Edanant and Maximilian also launched their responses.
“……!”
Clang!
The black cardinal squeezed the last remnants of life from his being and activated the realm of swiftness. He once again occupied Edanant’s rear, thrusting his sharp blade forward.
However, the ambush failed with the metallic sound of the blade bouncing off.
Maximilian had intercepted the strike, having discerned the realm of swiftness.
“Indeed…! You’ve reached the realm as well.”
“Of course.”
Even Edanant could not keep up with Ilkeron, who had activated the realm of swiftness. It was a speed beyond human comprehension.
Maximilian saw through such swiftness.
He even managed to follow the trajectory of the sword.
Maximilian had also activated the realm of swiftness simultaneously with him. As proof of this, the blade of the black star Procyon, speckled with pitch black, emitted a strange sword aura.
“The calamity of war! I will annihilate you, who has mocked the majesty of the One True God!”
– How dare you? Knowing your place as a perennial second-rate.
The Invincible Sword,
Cirelle Vailred.
She was the flawless champion recognized by all the holy knights of the Holy Kingdom.
A swift swordsmanship inherited from the Cardinal of the Sword.
Resolute bravery that punishes all evils and an unwavering faith towards the One True God.
And she was armed with the supreme divine weapon that perfectly mimicked the holy sword.
The Invincible Sword knows no defeat.
Despite battling countless strong foes representing the Demon Lord’s army and the cultist forces, she emerged victorious every time. Having overcome trials that bordered on the absurd, she became the strongest holy knight favored by the One True God.
It was only natural to feel fear against the calamity of war, which could stand toe-to-toe with such an Invincible Sword.
– Let it pour.
A deluge of bombardment rained down like lightning.
The punishment of the calamity fell to shatter the counterfeit holy sword.
It was an attack that even the Cardinal of the Sword had given up on blocking and chose to evade. Witnessing the countless bombardments directed at her, Cirelle swallowed her breath and raised the holy sword.
“Guh!!”
Kwahwahwahwah──!!
Maximizing the output of the holy sword, she unleashed a red storm.
But the limits were clear.
How could one block a torrential downpour with an umbrella? As the relentless bombardment continued, the red wind began to scream and slowly pushed her back.
If swept away, she would die.
She would turn to ashes without leaving even a shred of flesh behind.
The siege weapons that filled the sky with their overwhelming presence continued to spew fire and bombardment. Cirelle had to endure the punishment of the calamity with a gaze filled with despair.
“Lady Cirelle!”
“Master…!”
As the barrage of artillery rained down, even the projectiles boasting overwhelming destructive power were about to fall,
a meddler burst in.
Ilkeron, activating the realm of swiftness, embraced Cyrel and pulled away from the range of the bombardment.
– You should have tied it up properly. Can’t you even do that?
“…….”
The fiercely fired artillery barrage turned part of the sanctuary into a desolate wasteland.
The statues carved of past heroes and saints,
and the countless cathedrals that had withstood centuries of history vanished without a trace.
Even the victory towers of the Holy Kingdom, celebrating the triumph of the Third Racial War, were reduced to ashes, yet Edanant merely expressed regret for having missed the target right before his eyes.
“Edan, look over there.”
– What the hell is that.
Maximilian said, extending the tip of his sword.
Turning his head in the direction Maximilian pointed, Edanant narrowed his brow and spoke.
“Could it be…! Edan! The cardinals of the sanctuary are planning to fling open the gates to the Celestial Realm!”
– Damn. That’s a real kicker.
Hadn’t the priests of the God of Calamity opened a passage connected to the realm of chaos in the imperial capital of Baltaria? Similarly, the cardinals of the Holy Kingdom were attempting to fling open the gates to the Celestial Realm.
What on earth is happening?
Could it be that the gates to the Celestial Realm are opening, allowing the angels of the One God to appear?
This is not good.
A sense of foreboding seemed to flow through my entire body.
A massive divine power dispersed into six branches, soaring like pillars. As the sight of it piercing the vast atmosphere and dyeing the sky pure white unfolded, I felt a breathless sense of urgency.
‘Damn, I didn’t realize the cardinals were scheming while dealing with the old man. But has Maximilian just found out? That can’t be… The strongest hero in history didn’t know that the upper echelons of the Holy Kingdom were trying to open the gates to the Celestial Realm?’
Could it be that Maximilian, who had been acting according to the directives of the Holy Kingdom until now, truly didn’t know the truth?
I looked at Maximilian with suspicion.
Even as a colossal anomaly unfolded before us, Maximilian’s expression remained as calm as ever.
“So this was the reason for summoning the calamity of famine into the sanctuary.”
– What does that mean?
“They intend to have the messenger of the One God tame the calamity of famine. Surely, the esteemed cardinals wouldn’t think that they could control the innocent calamity with mere human power.”
– So in the end… the messenger of the One God is the mastermind behind this incident.
Ilkeron, Cyrel, and the upper echelons of the Holy Kingdom were nothing more than cogs in a machine.
The figure who issued the command was a being of the Celestial Realm.
Even the beings of the Celestial Realm must be terrified of the world’s end to intervene in the mortal realm. They must have mobilized the entire Holy Kingdom to execute an extreme plan to somehow prevent the world’s demise.
—For now, let’s put the conversation aside. We need to block the blinding bursts of light shooting into the sky. Come to think of it, the cathedral of the archangels who serve the One True God was at the heart of the sanctuary.
If we were to bring down the cathedral of the archangels, which acts as a medium for the massive spell, we could obstruct the door connecting to the Celestial Realm.
It’s a simple task.
Ikelon and Sirelle had retreated far away, and the holy knights who had been mobilized for battle were now incapacitated, swept away by lightning.
Edanant extended one hand, moving all the siege weapons he had deployed in the air. It seemed he intended to bombard the center of the sanctuary, where the white light was swirling, and obliterate it without a trace.
“Stop, Edan.”
—What? Could it be that the esteemed hero is planning to strike his own brother from behind?
The dark-hued holy sword moved.
The sharp tip was aimed precisely at Edanant.
As Maximilian warned in a heavy voice, Edanant clicked his tongue and asked. His question was almost mocking, yet Maximilian maintained his expressionless demeanor.
“Leave it be. We need the Seraph for the completion of the plan.”
—What… the Seraph?
I finally understood why Maximilian, who had severed all ties and vanished, returned to the Holy Kingdom to join hands with the cardinals.
The descent of the Seraph.
That was the purpose of the Saintly Party.
Surely, he doesn’t intend to assist the Seraph serving the One True God in capturing Jebeline. It was clear he had ulterior motives to use the Seraph’s descent to fulfill his plan.