Ludger had expected someone of importance might come—but this far exceeded even his imagination.
The current Holy Sovereign himself had appeared.
Now he understood why Priestess Remria could not so much as move.
They may both share the same blood of the Holy Line, but Salesin, as the reigning Holy Sovereign, holds the greatest authority over the priesthood.
If Remria instinctively obeyed Ludger’s commands, feeling compelled by his words without realizing it, then for her, a single command from Salesin would be a crushing act of divine coercion.
I did expect someone of high rank from the Holy Family might come—but the Holy Sovereign himself?
Was it to exploit a moment of weakness, or merely to display overwhelming confidence?
Either way, the arrival of the supreme ruler was, in a sense, a relief for Ludger.
“For the Holy Sovereign to personally visit a place like this—you must have a great deal of leisure time.”
“My subordinates work hard enough in my stead. I’ve realized I don’t actually have that much to do. What do they call it—being a figurehead? That’s about right.”
Salesin spoke modestly, but Ludger didn’t believe a word.
The man smiled pleasantly, yet the sharp red eyes beneath that smile did not laugh at all.
Just as I’m probing him, he’s probing me as well.
Salesin had not ascended to the Holy Throne simply because he was the firstborn.
Ludger had quite a few half-siblings, and every one of them was extraordinarily gifted—talents rarely found in the long history of the Holy Nation of Bretus.
That Salesin had emerged victorious among such prodigies meant it was not luck that had made him Holy Sovereign—he was truly superior.
Not only was he powerful enough to be suited for the position, but he possessed an agile intellect and a political acumen unmatched.
A man like that coming here out of “leisure”? Not even a fool would believe it.
“When I heard that my long-lost younger brother had reappeared, how could I not come see for myself?”
“Not because you wanted to kill me personally?”
“Kill you? Why would I do that?”
“Have you already forgotten what the cardinal and those archbishops were plotting?”
Salesin shook his head slowly.
“That was Cardinal Patricio and his subordinates acting on their own accord. It has nothing to do with me.”
Nothing to do with him?
Ludger’s lips curved into a faint, crooked smile.
Thousands. That was how ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) many soldiers had been gathered at one place.
No matter how influential a cardinal might be, could he truly assemble such a force without the Holy Sovereign’s approval?
Impossible. Salesin’s influence had clearly been involved.
To Salesin, the deaths of Patricio and his priests and paladins must have been a grievous loss—yet he claimed it had been the cardinal’s “independent act,” without even a flicker of emotion.
“How merciless of you, to discard a man who once followed you with such devotion.”
“Even a cardinal who betrays the will of God must face rightful judgment.”
“The will of God, you say? That’s not something I’d expect from the one who’s strayed furthest from Lumenis’ teachings.”
At that, for the first time, a change appeared on Salesin’s smiling face.
His mask didn’t crack, but his crimson eyes narrowed, the corners lengthening sharply.
“My brother... At the site where Saint Arkenis and the Great Demon once clashed, a great disturbance of power was felt. You opened a channel to the divine realm, didn’t you?”
“Was it only communication? I saw Lumenis Himself manifest His power.”
Salesin’s gaze deepened. He knew Ludger had annihilated Cardinal Patricio and the subjugation army.
He was a man of the Lumenis faith himself, overflowing with divine power. Even from afar, he would have felt that immense surge.
“You said you killed Cardinal Patricio, right? But there’s one thing you got wrong. I did kill the others there—but Patricio wasn’t one of them.”
“Oh? You wiped out so many, and yet claim you spared the cardinal? If not you, then who killed him?”
“If you think about who actually exerted power at that place, you should already know.”
Salesin’s lips curved upward, amused.
“You’re saying Lumenis Himself delivered divine punishment?”
“That is the truth. That man never served God with sincerity. The same goes for you, doesn’t it?”
“......”
“Lumenis knows. He knows that His so-called Holy Nation has long ceased to worship Him with genuine faith—that it’s become corrupted. That’s why He punished Patricio. Would you like to know how he died?”
Salesin shook his head.
“Long ago, Lumenis preached that those who served Him faithfully would ascend to the heavens and gaze upon the world by His side.”
At the sudden talk of doctrine, Ludger said nothing and listened quietly.
“People believed that wholeheartedly and praised Him all the more. But that was merely the surface truth. Do you know why I’m not curious about Patricio’s end? Because I already know how he died.”
“You do?”
“To ‘gaze upon the world together with Lumenis’ means to become one with Him. And becoming one with Him does not mean being His servant—it means being absorbed by Him entirely. The human body collapses, turns into light and lightning, and is drawn into Him.”
Ludger recalled Patricio’s final moments.
Through that black vortex, the human body disintegrating into radiant light—drawn upward and consumed.
A sight beyond belief even to those who witnessed it. Yet Salesin, who hadn’t seen it, spoke as though he knew exactly how it happened.
“Lumenis never loved humanity to begin with.”
“So you intend to betray Him?”
“‘Betrayal’ is what happens between those who once trusted each other. But Lumenis never trusted us. Can that be called betrayal?”
“You... you truly do understand your role.”
“Not just me. My father—the previous Holy Sovereign—and every generation before us knew it well. Lumenis granted us power not out of love, but to shape the world to His will. We are merely tools. Where do you think the old texts describing humans turning to light and being absorbed came from?”
Only then did Ludger understand—some former Holy Sovereigns had met the same fate as Patricio.
“The opportunity we gained came from the battle between the Saint and the Great Demon. Lumenis lost His authority that day.”
“So you took the chance to claim Bretus as your own?”
“No. You’ve got it backwards. It was ours to begin with. We merely reclaimed rightful ownership.”
“Then you’ve failed to do what Lumenis commanded.”
Human civilization’s progress was proof enough of that.
Originally, Lumenis had created the faith and the Holy Nation to curb human development—to prevent mankind from rising high enough to oppose Him.
He empowered the Holy Sovereigns so they could exert divine influence in the mortal world.
But once that conduit vanished, the essence of Bretus changed.
They still influenced the continent, but no longer enough to halt human progress.
Especially over the past century—science had advanced far too rapidly.
Faith had waned; magic engineering and firearms had risen instead.
“How long could we live as His puppets? This world belongs to humanity.”
It sounded almost like a hymn to mankind—but the meaning beneath it was far from noble.
“You may have escaped Lumenis’ yoke, but nothing the Holy Nation has done since has been for humanity. You just don’t want to let go of your power.”
Indeed, the strife between Lumenis and Bretus came from nothing more than both sides’ obsession with their own desires.
“What does that matter? What matters is that you were born.”
Salesin’s red eyes gleamed.
“Heathcliff. You understand, don’t you—what your existence means?”
“I do.”
“Lumenis must have believed He could no longer interfere directly in this world. But He never gave up. He sought a way to return—to reclaim His lost grandeur. The result... was you.”
A child who should never have been born.
Heathcliff von Bretus.
The only child of the Holy Line born with black hair among the white-haired lineage of the Holy Sovereigns.
A bastard of the royal bloodline.
And—
“The Holy Grail crafted by Lumenis Himself to contain His power.”
“......”
“A prodigy beyond all prodigies—a talent so monstrous it could not be measured. Even as a bastard, that power alone was enough to make you fit to be Holy Sovereign.”
But Salesin and the others had not seen it that way.
Especially Benedict, the former Holy Sovereign, who had realized what Ludger truly was.
“You’re nothing but a vessel—a tool Lumenis created to channel His power into this world once more. The hollow god, powerless as He is, seeks to steal our authority back through you. And you think we’d simply allow that?”
That was why they had tried to kill him—because he was the vessel meant to contain the divine power.
If he lived, Lumenis could once again dominate the Holy Nation through him.
“That can’t be allowed. Never.”
In the flicker of Salesin’s crimson eyes, Ludger recognized the truth—desire.
Greed. The lust for power. The possessiveness born of sitting too long upon a throne.
“When you vanished, I truly did worry. If you’d been within sight, I wouldn’t have been so uneasy. Not knowing where you were or what power you were gaining... that was intolerable. But now, things are different. You’ve returned—right into our grasp.”
“So you’ll kill me now?”
“What if I do?”
Salesin extended a hand toward him.
Through the bars, he merely mimed grasping something—and red marks appeared around Ludger’s neck.
With a squeeze, he could have snapped it like a twig.
Ludger met his gaze calmly, unflinching.
“But not yet.”
Salesin withdrew his hand.
“Killing you here would do us no good.”
“You have remarkable patience.”
“I prefer to savor what’s worth savoring. You won’t die quietly in a place like this. No—you’ll have a grand stage, an audience fit for history. Before them all, you’ll be executed—the enemy of the Holy Nation, the traitor to humanity.”
Salesin no longer bothered to hide his emotions.
There was no need, now that Ludger knew everything.
“For the past twenty years, we’ve hidden in the shadows. The continent has forgotten the might of Bretus. But no longer. I won’t allow that.”
“Perhaps once that was possible—but not anymore. The Holy Nation’s name carries little weight in an age like this. Who would obey your decrees now?”
Selling indulgences, dethroning kings—those were tales from centuries past.
In this modern world, with science advancing, equality laws rising, labor rights being written—
They were relics of the old world, desperate to be acknowledged once again.
“You’re right. People these days lack reverence for the divine. And that’s not something we can restore with mere words.”
“Do you miss it? Did you think people would stay fools forever?”
“Haha. Of course not. Had they not changed, we’d have been disappointed. What fun is there in ruling puppets that can’t even struggle?”
“...What?”
A chill crept into Ludger’s spine at those words.
“What are you plotting?”
“Oh, nothing much. The world has forgotten the greatness of Bretus. I intend to remind them.”
“Bluffing? Such a thing isn’t possible.”
“You’ll see soon enough whether it’s bluff or not. Heathcliff, haven’t you noticed something odd? Every god—just like the demons—has apostles. You’ve experienced enough to know that.”
“......”
Of course he knew.
Apostles were the chosen representatives of gods—their closest agents, their voices in the mortal realm.
“Then here’s a question: do you think Lumenis has an apostle?”
“...You mean to say there’s an apostle within the Holy Nation?”
Impossible.
If that were true, there would have been traces over the centuries—signs, miracles, something.
“It would spoil the surprise if I told you now. But don’t worry—you’ll find out soon.”
Salesin waved his hand lightly as he turned away.
“This has been a pleasant reunion. Let’s have our next meeting back in the homeland.”
It will be your last.