The entire fortress of Galaharad trembled violently.
The light emanating from the fortress built of Holy Stone grew even brighter, to the point that it could be seen with the naked eye from far away.
“So it’s finally the first stage.”
Ludger murmured as he looked at the faint ancient divine script engraved upon the relic.
The power of the relic had activated the fortress of Galaharad itself as one great device.
That alone was an enormous success.
According to the plan, this was merely stage one.
There were still many mountains left to climb, but the fact that they had stepped onto the first stage itself was what mattered.
If the first button was fastened correctly, the following processes were far more likely to proceed without failure.
“We shouldn’t celebrate too soon, though. Announcing to the world, ‘Look at me, I’m doing something huge,’ might send the Crusaders into a frenzy.”
“I know.”
Even though they had succeeded in the first stage, it was not purely a good thing.
It was certain that the Crusaders, who had witnessed the strange phenomenon erupting from the fortress of Galaharad, would intensify their assault.
“And you felt it just now, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. The main gate of the outer wall has been breached after all.”
“What are you going to do? There’s still a lot of time left before we can move to the next stage.”
“I have to stop them, but I can’t move yet. You’ll have to handle it for now.”
“Haa. Guess I have no choice.”
Suruna shook his head.
“It was better when I was your subordinate. The moment we became partners, you started ordering me around. Well, I’ll still do it. If it’s for the sake of both our goals.”
Suruna strapped his sword to his waist and left the altar.
Ludger watched him go, then turned his gaze back to the relic.
He still needed more time.
* * *
Just as Ludger and Suruna had expected, everyone else saw it clearly.
“Light is pouring out from the fortress!”
“Is the Demon King trying to do something? Any other abnormal phenomena?”
“None so far.”
“Then we can assume this is just a precursor.”
“What should we do?”
“Move as quickly as possible. How’s the unit formation?”
“Well, with the tide surging, it’s reported that further landings from the battleships are impossible. The ground troops are safe thanks to the mages and priests, but most of the armored units and steam golems have been flooded.”
“So we’ll have to make do with the forces ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) that have already landed. No choice, then.”
The soldiers advanced.
Thanks to Catherine clearing away the thorn vines and water lilies as she passed, they could move without hindrance.
An advancing army.
Superhumans fighting across the battlefield.
And even the Saint herself, who had broken open the gates and entered.
Catherine was about to head deeper into the outer fortress when she stopped.
Because people had appeared around her.
“Those who have remained hidden until now... what brings you here?”
Three figures—two men and one woman—revealed themselves.
Each of them looked to be over fifty and wore magnificent priestly robes.
Their attire alone made their positions clear.
Cardinals of the Lumenis Church.
Catherine already knew they were in Bretus.
She had sensed the presence of their remote control through those they had brainwashed.
Controlling someone through bestowed divine power was impossible over long distances.
So she had known they were hiding somewhere on this island—but she hadn’t expected them to reveal themselves so soon.
“Is it because I dealt with that troublesome tree?”
Catherine’s words hit the mark.
The Cardinals had been unable to approach the outer fortress because of the tree guarding the gate and had been hesitating.
Now that Catherine had split the tree apart and opened the path, they seized the chance to appear.
“Hoho. Don’t say it like that. Isn’t it better when we help each other?”
The first to speak was an elderly woman in her sixties with a kind smile—Cardinal Aldre Lily, the only female Cardinal in the Holy Nation.
“Indeed. I can’t understand why you’d slander us when we’re simply offering our assistance.”
The next to speak was Cardinal Joseph Powell.
A man in his fifties with a solemn expression, muscular build, and square jaw—he looked more like a holy knight than a priest.
The muscles showing through his crossed arms proved he hadn’t neglected physical training.
“Now, now, let’s all calm down. We should be joining forces to defeat the Demon King, not bickering among ourselves.”
The last one to speak was an elderly gentleman with glasses and immaculate attire—Cardinal Sehar Garnia, the eldest among them.
Catherine silently stared at the Cardinals.
They greeted her with smiles, but their hearts were far from friendly.
From the very beginning, her relationship with the Cardinals had been antagonistic by nature.
They had climbed their positions through decades of political maneuvering, not only requiring skill but also immense divine power and talent.
Catherine was different.
She had neither noble blood nor lineage—she was a former test subject.
She had been chosen as Saint only because her body showed the highest compatibility with the Saint’s fragment.
To the Cardinals, Catherine was not a true Saint.
She was merely an imitation made by exploiting the Saint’s power.
An imitation with great power, yes—but still an imitation.
Who could sincerely respect someone who had suddenly gained power and status equal to or higher than their own?
Worse yet, after becoming Saint, Catherine had gathered the other test subjects—those who had failed to become Saints—and appointed them as Priestesses.
Though they were failed experiments, they had achieved partial success and possessed considerable power.
Catherine argued that leaving them unused was a waste of manpower, so she reestablished the long-abolished office of “Priestess” and assigned those women to it.
Failures elevated to positions equal to Cardinals—naturally, the Cardinals hated her for it.
They regarded Catherine as a threat—believing she was using the Priestess order to secure political power within the Holy Nation.
“Saint, you’ve used a great deal of power. Please, rest for now. We’ll handle the rest.”
Cardinal Joseph spoke first.
His words were polite, but his expression was not—it sounded more like a veiled threat than concern.
“Yes, indeed. And we must also examine the condition of those warriors bound by that tree.”
“Shouldn’t that be something you Cardinals could do yourselves?”
“With your far greater divine power and sacred arts, Saint, I believe you’re the most suitable one to care for them.”
At Sehar’s words, Catherine frowned.
Those who always tried to restrain her were now humbling themselves as if she were truly the Saint—only to shove the troublesome work onto her.
Catherine almost retorted but decided against it.
“Very well. But you must be careful. Inside, there will be dangers far greater than what you’ve faced outside.”
Though the Cardinals replied with polite acknowledgment, they scoffed inwardly.
Instead of worrying about being struck down by the Demon King’s servants, they thought she was simply trying to scare them.
“No need to worry. We’ve brought relics with us, after all.”
The Cardinals entered the fortress.
Catherine considered following them—but chose not to.
Just imagining the quarrels that would follow gave her a headache already.
It would be better to stay behind and watch over the sisters and Rine.
‘At least that elf who manipulated the tree seems to be occupied by Adne.’
But there was another reason Catherine remained.
“It’s about time you show yourself. I already know you’re hiding there.”
“Ah, really now. Can’t you just pretend not to notice and let it go this once?”
The empty air rippled, and from it appeared Helia.
Spinning the parasol in her hand playfully, she smiled with a pout.
“So it really is those eyes of yours. Unfair, honestly. No matter how well I hide myself, you just peek into the future and ruin all the fun.”
Helia spoke mockingly, but Catherine said nothing.
Instead, she prepared herself for battle.
“I thought you’d be easier to talk to than those old Cardinals, but you go straight into a combat stance? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re just trying to distract me with talk before a sneak attack. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”
Helia pouted.
“Oh, you even foresaw that? I really hate that.”
She swung her parasol lightly from left to right.
The air split open along its path, spewing out hideous monsters from within.
Beasts more feral than animals, more horrifying than cryptids—creatures born from Helia’s authority.
“You know what these are, don’t you?”
“Ancient monsters.”
“Right. Then you know how vicious and dangerous they are.”
The priestesses watching from afar rushed to help.
“Catherine!”
“All of you, fall back.”
Catherine infused her voice with divine power, sending it to the sisters at a distance.
“You’ll only get caught in the crossfire. Stay back.”
“B-but—”
“Don’t worry. This won’t take long anyway.”
At that, the priestesses nodded and retreated.
“Such sisterly love. Though they’re not even your real sisters.”
“Blood alone doesn’t make a family. You didn’t know that?”
“How would I know? That was a rather arrogant thing to say, though. ‘It won’t take long’? What, did you see that with those precious eyes of yours?”
“No.”
Catherine smiled faintly, denying Helia’s words.
“For someone like you, I don’t even need to see the future to know I can defeat you easily.”
“...Ah. You’re really pissing me off.”
Helia’s lips curled into a crooked smile.
“Then let’s see for ourselves—the strength of the Saint so highly praised by the Church.”
At Helia’s command, the ancient monsters charged toward Catherine.
* * *
The three Cardinals who had entered the fortress soon found themselves at a split path.
“Shouldn’t we head straight for the inner fortress?”
“Is there any need for all three of us to move together?”
“Then what do you suggest?”
They hesitated.
Should they split up or stay together?
Entering the fortress where the Demon King resided meant they should combine their strength—but their thoughts differed.
They had cooperated only to keep the Saint in check; they certainly weren’t on good terms.
Each knew the others too well to trust them enough to turn their backs.
“Then let’s move separately.”
They reached a temporary agreement.
They were confident enough in their own strength to believe they could win even against demons.
Then, a sharp voice reached them.
“At a time like this, when you should be pulling together, you’re already talking about splitting your forces? I knew you were stupid, but even stupidity should have limits, don’t you think?”
The Cardinals turned toward the voice.
On the ornate painted ceiling hung a man like a bat.
“A d-demon?”
“Not just any demon—a great demon.”
Grinning, Suruna dropped from the ceiling and landed lightly on the ground.
“I thought Cardinals would at least have some brains, but seeing you bicker here, I guess I was wrong.”
“Great Demon Suruna. You dare show yourself before us?”
Joseph bared his teeth with a snarl.
“You could have waited until we split up and struck us one by one. Why show yourself now?”
At Sehar’s question, Suruna shrugged.
“Well, honestly, taking you out one by one would’ve been easier. I could’ve attacked earlier too without saying a word.”
“Then why?”
“I just got fed up watching. Thinking about how fools like you ruled the world for so long—it’s ridiculous.”
“What?”
“So I’ll show you.”
Suruna drew his sword and gazed coldly at the Cardinals.
“I’ll show you what true fear looks like.”