[Vol. 8] Chapter 72: The Angry Lion
The value and importance of this trial for the "God’s Chosen" had now reached an unprecedented level.
The goddess had not completely left. All the believers present clearly felt that Her loving gaze was still watching over all living beings. Every thought and prayer would be heard by the divine power, even if not spoken aloud.
The Primordial Light had never abandoned Her children.
It wouldn’t be long before the heroes known as the God’s Chosen would return to this place to officially receive the highest honor and blessing, and take on the responsibility and glory of guiding their people through coming disasters into a brighter future.
Dong~ dong~ dong~ dong~ dong~...
The solemn sound of bells rang out once more from afar in the Angel City.
The Knights of the Gods kneeled on one knee, tapping their chest armor with their longswords, creating a powerful, clear rhythm.
Following their lead, the voices of devotion rose up to the skies.
“Praise the Goddess!!!!!”
…………………………………………
Meanwhile, in the east of the world, in the capital of the Austre Empire, Frederick City...
“……”
A red-haired middle-aged man sat silently on the main seat of the hall, watching the magic lights around him slowly come back on.
The returning light lit up the scene of chaos and panic in the hall. He turned his head slightly to glance at the ten or so elite guards who had rushed to protect him during the sudden blackout. Their faces showed worry and fear. He gave them a cold shake of the head.
“There was no assassin. You may all leave.”
The heavily armored guards, who wore the empire's latest magitech armor, looked at each other in confusion.
One of them, wearing a more complex armor that marked him as the guard captain, waved for the others to step back. Then, with great care, he spoke,
“Your Majesty, the lighting system in the Hall might have malfunctioned. Do you want me to call a magitech engineer to inspect it?”
“……”
The middle-aged man, addressed as "Your Majesty", did not respond. He simply looked coldly at the captain, a man known for his legendary-level strength.
That one look sent a chill through the captain's heart. He immediately shut his mouth and respectfully retreated from the hall.
Soon after, the emperor waved again, and the maids and officials, who had been standing on either side and had panicked during the blackout, hurried out of the hall as well.
All of them had served this emperor for some time, and they had learned to read even the smallest changes in his expression, which normally looked like a cold, unmoving iceberg.
They could tell, the Emperor was not in a good mood.
And if anyone made the wrong move now, they'd risk more than just losing their job, they could easily be executed.
After everyone had left and the grand, decorated hall became quiet, Leonis Frederick, the current Emperor who ruled over the mighty Austre Empire, finally moved.
He opened a golden lion-shaped compartment in the armrest of his throne. Inside was a small scroll, neatly tied up, clearly placed there through some sort of secret mechanism.
He took it out, opened the still-warm wax seal, and calmly read the contents of the letter.
“BANG!!!”
Suddenly, with no warning, he slammed his fist onto the table in front of him.
The force of the blow split the thick jade table clean in two with a loud crack, echoing through the hall.
And the letter in his hand, now crumpled tightly in his palm, instantly turned to ash under his furious grip.
Even though the red-haired man had just burst into anger, his face remained completely calm and emotionless. He stayed clear-headed and didn’t lose control.
No guards rushed in to protect him after hearing the loud noise. It was as if they were already used to their ruler’s sudden outbursts.
The large council hall was so quiet, it felt a little scary.
After a long silence, Leonis finally loosened his clenched iron fist, though it was still completely unharmed.
He then took out another jade ring from a hidden compartment in his main ring and put it on his right hand. Pouring magic power into it, the green jade ring, carved not with a lion, but with the image of a coiled giant serpent, began to glow.
Soon, a faint image appeared in front of the imperial desk.
It was a strange person, completely covered in a loose robe, their face hidden. From inside their robe, thin wisps of gray mist kept swirling out. Even so, Leonis could clearly feel that the person was looking directly at him, even though they seemed far away in another world.
[What is it?]
The figure's voice was very cold and even sounded a bit annoyed. It wasn’t spoken in any human language, yet the voice carried a mysterious, powerful force that anyone could understand. Just from the voice, Leonis knew who this was.
In front of this being, even the absolute ruler of the Austre Empire was seen as nothing more than a bug. And from the way this figure acted, they clearly didn’t think Leonis was important or worth their time.
But Leonis, used to power and command, showed no fear. His face stayed just as cold and stern as ever, as he spoke slowly and clearly:
“You promised that the Holy Empire’s divine ceremony would turn into a big joke. But just now, they really summoned their goddess into the world. The divine power of light affected even my land, causing a huge uproar. So tell me… who’s really become the joke here?”
[......]
The figure didn't get angry at Leonis’s sharp words. Instead, they seemed surprised, like they had just snapped out of deep concentration.
After a few seconds of silence, the shadowy person nodded.
[Wait a moment.]
Before Leonis could say anything, the gray-robed figure hurriedly left the projection.
But perhaps they left too quickly, the magical image, which was being projected by the serpent ring, didn’t turn off. Leonis could still see what was happening behind them.
Behind the figure, hidden earlier by their robe, were waves of dark golden flames, roaring like a volcano eruption. The light and shadows danced wildly from the fire.
Leonis could faintly hear the sound of things burning, rushed footsteps, and even inhuman screams, all mixed together in chaos.
Even though he couldn’t clearly see where the fire came from, he could easily guess what was happening. That twisted and strange person was doing some terrible, unnatural experiment again.
Leonis had already seen many of the figure’s monstrous creations.
Some time ago, there had been a horrifying experiment in the southeast of the Austre Empire, and two monsters had rampaged through the region of Sainz. Both of those disasters had come from the same person's crazy powers.
Leonis had read the detailed investigation reports from the intelligence department. He knew just how dangerous and destructive those things were.
But the strange figure had never seemed to care, not even a little.
And from what Leonis had heard, this cruel and heartless god was actually considered one of the more easy-going ones in their secret group.
That really made you wonder, what kind of monsters were the rest of them?
Gods… were nothing like what humans imagined them to be.