Episode 135 Continental Summit (3)
"First of all, I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to come all the way here despite your busy schedules."
After Liesta, Heinrich, and Cardinal Cordelia sat down in the empty seats at the round table in the center,
"Then, let the Continental Summit begin."
The main meeting began with the Cardinal's brief opening remarks.
"We are currently facing an unprecedented crisis. It could be said that this is an even greater crisis than the two previous Immortal King incidents."
Cardinal Cordelia's voice, imbued with holy power, spread throughout the grand conference hall.
Everyone's attention was focused on her low yet powerful speech, filled with years of experience.
"A thousand years ago, the abyss opened, and the Immortal King, who descended upon this world, covered half of this land in death."
The people of the continent at that time were only able to defeat the Immortal King and the undead army after gathering all their strength and paying a great price.
"Three hundred years ago, the second Immortal King was born because of a dark mage who obtained the Immortal King's Heart. He destroyed the Sarv Empire, which boasted the most powerful force at the time."
But they were able to successfully subjugate him with the cooperation of many and prevent the damage from spreading further.
And unlike before, they even shattered the heart and sealed one of the fragments, so they thought the same thing wouldn't happen again…
"And now, the third Immortal King has reappeared in the world."
Cardinal Cordelia calmly continued to explain about Hans, the newly born Immortal King.
The Talia Kingdom in the western part of the continent was the first to detect him, but Hans had been toying with them from the beginning, showing cunning movements beyond their imagination.
His cunning in luring the Church and making them fight against the vampire clan they were in conflict with.
His ruthlessness in using even his dark mage followers as bait without hesitation when they were no longer useful.
His mobility in leisurely waiting for the subjugation force that had finally tracked him down and then mocking them as he escaped.
His stealth in neutralizing the Church's all-out search efforts and hiding himself.
"Hmm…"
"This is… beyond expectations…"
The people's expressions hardened as the Cardinal continued, but her words didn't end.
The unidentified, sinister bio-experiments conducted in the monster forest in the western part of the continent and their cruelty.
His decisiveness in using the exposure of the laboratory's location to lure the Roselia Cathedral's forces outside.
And then… his magic ability, which allowed him to infiltrate the cathedral, despite not fully inheriting the Immortal King's power, and steal the Immortal King's Fragment that was sealed deep inside, bypassing the Church's tight security.
And his meticulous schemes and his growth rate, which defied imagination, that made it all possible.
"······."
"···Ahem."
The surrounding air chilled, and everyone's expressions became serious.
And that included…
Heinrich, the Saint, who had been quietly sitting in his seat.
'Wow… Hans, that guy, he was scary!'
Hearing the facts organized from the Church's perspective, he couldn't help but be appalled by Hans's meticulous movements.
'But no matter how strong the opponent is, I, Heinrich, will never give up!'
He clenched his fist and made a solemn expression.
Filled with the determination to fight for the light of the world, no matter how thick the darkness.
He could feel several gazes directed at him, but he didn't bother looking around.
This wasn't something he was doing for show, it was an action that came from his heart!
The speech continued while he was immersed in his role as a righteous hero, burning with a sense of mission.
"But the most important thing is something else. This generation's Immortal King isn't blindly obsessed like his predecessors, he's meticulously hiding his tracks and operating in the shadows."
And what Hans did after that was to open the abyss once again by performing sacrificial rituals throughout the continent.
Countless undead, sealed in the previous generation, were released from the weakened boundary of the abyss, causing many casualties.
"But the real problem was something else. As you all know, the abyss's 'madness' has spread throughout the world."
Madness mainly targeted monsters with weak rationality, significantly increasing their physical abilities and aggression, and that led to chaos worldwide.
Not only in areas with a high concentration of monsters, such as the Northern Mountains, which were called the paradise of monsters, but even monsters that had been living peacefully in the mountains went mad, and the damage spread rapidly.
And the situation was intensifying as time passed, because the madness that had spread throughout the world was parasitizing monsters and slowly increasing in quantity.
Once 'madness' increased, it didn't disappear just by killing the monster, it would either spread throughout the world again or become food for a stronger monster…
"We've concluded that the only way to calm this madness incident is to seal the core of madness, which must have emerged with it when it was extracted from the abyss."
That was the conclusion the Main God Church's investigation team reached after a long investigation of the ritual site where the abyss was opened.
Most of the madness had crumbled and spread because of the incomplete summoning, but there must be a medium that manifested in the world with a physical form.
And it was probably being hidden by the Immortal King somewhere, to be used as a weapon to attack the continent.
And the immortal army's recent stealthy movements were also unsettling.
They were acting as if they were on the verge of something big, and the Church was closely monitoring the situation.
"Therefore, we must focus all our efforts on eliminating the Immortal King, the cause of all this. As soon as possible, before things get worse. We need your cooperation for that."
Murmur, murmur—
Everyone at the meeting started whispering as soon as Cardinal Cordelia finished her explanation.
They were all high-ranking officials, so they knew the general situation, but there were also many facts they didn't know, included in her announcement.
And her statement also included a matter that was very sensitive to the Church…
As everyone was gauging the situation, one of those sitting at the representatives' table leisurely raised his hand and drew everyone's attention.
"I have a question."
A young man with bright blonde hair and green eyes, a prickly expression, as if he didn't care about the gazes of those around him.
It was Simon Carte Azeria, the Crown Prince of the Azeria Empire.
"If the Church had properly managed the fragment from the beginning, wouldn't the Immortal King have been resurrected?"
As he said, the Cardinal had just officially admitted the Main God Church's blunder.
That the Immortal King had been resurrected because the fragment under their management had been stolen.
"Does that mean you're admitting that the Church's mistake contributed to the Immortal King's resurrection? That the Church's complacency was the cause of all this?"
And Crown Prince Simon, whose daily life was a series of political maneuvers, wasn't the type to overlook the opponent's weakness.
The Azeria Empire was also a hegemonic power that prided itself on being the strongest on the continent, although the Main God Church was powerful.
They wouldn't back down, especially in a situation where the opponent had a clear flaw.
"How will the Church take responsibility for this?"
Murmur, murmur—
And there were countless countries that had suffered from this incident.
Public opinion would be on his side, so this was the perfect opportunity to undermine the Church's influence.
'This is good. I've been bothered by the Church's strong influence.'
The stronger the Church's power, the weaker the imperial power.
And the Main God Church's current influence was enough to surpass even the Empire.
'I will be the emperor who rules the Empire. I acknowledge the Main God's authority, but I can't tolerate his followers being above me. It would be perfect if I could suppress them with this opportunity.'
It was a separate issue from believing in the Main God.
He believed that even clergy were just humans who wielded power in the name of God, and that he, as a member of the imperial family, was superior in terms of human status.
"Sigh—"
Liesta, who was sitting at the table, sighed softly as the topic went astray.
They didn't even have enough time to discuss the immediate crisis, and now it was being delayed even further.
But judging by the atmosphere, it seemed like many sympathized with his words, even though they didn't speak up.
It couldn't be helped that it was human nature to want to blame others when something happened…
But now that it had been brought up, they couldn't just gloss over it.
Just as Cardinal Cordelia was about to speak,
"I understand what you're trying to say."
A man's voice, imbued with a powerful aura, echoed through the conference hall.
Everyone's gaze instantly focused on one spot at his presence.
"But our Main God Church…"
Heinrich, who had been quietly sitting there, stood up and met the eyes of each representative one by one.
And Crown Prince Simon's expression subtly distorted as he met his intense gaze.
"Has never shirked its responsibility."
The Crown Prince's words were right, but there was one thing he overlooked.
The Main God Church wasn't like those he had dealt with, who hid their wrongdoings for their own gain and engaged in dirty fights.
The Church had no intention of denying their mistake from the beginning.
They wouldn't have revealed everything if they had.
But now wasn't the time to discuss that, with more important issues at hand.
"A thousand years ago, three hundred years ago, and in every other crisis, the Main God Church has always shed blood on the front lines and never yielded its position."
In the past, it was the Church who took the lead in uniting everyone's power.
It was the Church who suffered damage and gathered information by tracking the Immortal King's whereabouts.
Even when they had to sacrifice their allies to create an opportunity.
Even when they opened the way for the heroes to fight the Immortal King in the final battle.
Even when they took on the responsibility of defeating him and sealing the shattered fragments.
The Main God Church was always at the forefront.
"And it will be the same this time."
Heinrich's intense gaze pierced through Simon.
The pressure emanating from him overwhelmed the surroundings, and everyone unconsciously held their breath.
"I don't intend to deny our mistake in this incident. I and the Church will take responsibility in some way."
Silence fell over the conference hall.
Only Heinrich's voice echoed through the spacious hall, but it didn't feel empty.
"I will be at the forefront of the fight against the Immortal King. And if I have to retreat, I will be the last one to leave."
And it wasn't just him, the Saint, who would act that way in the war.
Everyone in the Main God Church would sacrifice their lives like straw dogs, and that would continue until the day they completely drove the Immortal King from this land.
"…As the Main God Church has always done."
Even after his words ended, there was still not a single sound in the hall.
But the atmosphere was clearly different from before.
Most of them nodded in agreement, and even those who had frowned softened their expressions and didn't say anything.
Actually, what Heinrich said could be interpreted as, 'We'll admit our mistake, so please understand, as we'll do our best to clean up the mess. We've done well so far.'…
But there was a reason why everyone in this world respected and considered the Main God Church.
Their faith in God's existence also played a part, but the most important thing was the actions they had shown so far.
The trust and faith they had accumulated over a long time had already solidified into a stereotype, becoming an intangible asset and granting them immense authority.
"…Well, we'll see."
And that was also true for Crown Prince Simon.
He just smiled awkwardly and leaned back in his chair.
He had already realized that his original goal had failed the moment the atmosphere changed and quickly changed his course.
'Too much is as bad as too little. It's better to stop here for now. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future.'
Of course, he hadn't completely given up.
His subdued gaze turned to Heinrich, who was drawing everyone's attention.
A strong holy knight, devout, noble, and filled with a sense of justice.
'Saint, Heinrich…'
And he wasn't the only one looking at him with a similar gaze.
His strong impression was deeply engraved in everyone's minds, and gazes filled with various emotions focused on Heinrich.
It could be considered a successful debut as a Saint.
'Whew— I barely managed to clean up the mess. This is a good save, right?'
Of course, he was just cleaning up his own mess.