Chapter 117
Chapter 117
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: Queen's Coronation (2)
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The sky, shrouded in crimson clouds, split open, and dazzling light poured down.
It was a wide-area buff cast by Vice Captain Liana.
The light bathed everyone on the battlefield.
But all eyes were drawn to the one figure at the forefront.
The person who captured everyone's attention was none other than Princess Irena.
Why did she stand out so much more than the others?
It was no coincidence.
"Clack."
It was thanks to the Skeleton Holy Knight Maru standing right behind the princess.
Maru channeled holy power, focusing it entirely on Irena.
As a result, even amid the glowing veil of light, Princess Irena—who received the holy power—drew all eyes to her.
Those unaware of the truth began forming their own interpretations of Princess Irena.
"Ah, she must be the true faithful servant of the Goddess."
The Holy Knights whispered in reverent tones. They believed her actions and appearance stemmed solely from faith and devotion to the Goddess.
But the truth was different. Princess Irena was merely following Celia's orders.
"Princess! Fall back! We'll handle that monster!"
The royal knights cried out desperately. They saw hope in Princess Irena.
As long as the princess lived, the kingdom's future seemed bright.
For the kingdom they dreamed of, the knights begged her to stay safe, ready to throw themselves into the fray.
Yet Irena ignored their pleas and strode resolutely toward the King of Death.
Of course, this was possible only because Princess Irena was absolutely certain she wouldn't die.
The King of Death was, after all, just another subordinate of the Great One.
And she had already coordinated with Celia.
Though her frail human body trembled slightly, she felt no fear.
But someone stepped forward to block the princess's advance.
"Haha, Princess. Why bother with this pointless endeavor?"
It was Count Beerton, gripping his pickaxe.
The count wore an expression as if he owned the entire world.
"The tide has already turned. Look at that magnificent being! He will rule the continent!"
The count gestured dramatically toward the Death Knight King.
"He is the one who granted me this power! All who stand in my way will be crushed."
And he planned to deal with that empty-headed princess, then topple the royal family.
"Through his power, I will soon become king! Kuhahaha!"
Everyone fell silent at the count's mad display.
It felt like they'd glimpsed the depths of Count Beerton's depravity.
"Out of consideration for our past ties, I'll offer you some advice. Surrender now. You know it's all futile. Who knows? I might even take you as a concubine. Heh heh heh."
He no longer called her "princess"—now it was just "you."
He already saw himself as no different from the king.
"...Clack."
Necros, who had been watching Count Beerton, mimed slitting his throat.
The signal that the count's monologue was dragging on too long—cut it short.
This was all part of a play.
But an insignificant side character was stealing the spotlight.
The Death Knight King caught Necros's intent and unleashed dark power toward Count Beerton.
"Wha... why am I suddenly so... sleepy..."
The dark power lulled Count Beerton into a deep slumber.
Now the side character had exited stage left.
It was time for the star to shine.
The Death Knight King and Necros gave a slight nod.
Irena nodded faintly in response.
Vetter, standing behind the Death Knight King, immediately delivered his line.
【Kuhuku. You insignificant human... Do you dare stand against me?!】
As Vetter finished speaking, the Death Knight King gathered dark power, forming a massive orb of mana.
A colossal sphere pulsing with jet-black energy.
"Everyone, get out of the way!"
Before Irena's shout even ended, the sphere launched.
It streaked past Irena, slamming into the knights behind her.
The knights dodged nimbly, but some who couldn't escape were swallowed by the sphere.
"Aaaagh!"
"No!"
Screams echoed through the air, red flesh splattering everywhere.
Those brimming with courage moments ago now despaired.
【Hahaha! Is that all?! You thought this pathetic display could stop me?!】
As Vetter's line ended, the Death Knight King fired another jet-black sphere skyward.
It scorched the earth like hellfire. The blazing orb hurtled toward the knights.
But this time, Maru stepped forward to block it.
It was all planned.
A touch of fear was good, but killing more humans here might break their will entirely.
So everyone held back their power.
This stage belonged to Princess Irena, after all.
But the knights' morale had already crumbled.
"Goddess, save us..."
Even the Holy Knights prayed in despairing tones. Despite their fervent calls, the Goddess offered no response.
Had the Goddess abandoned them?
As seeds of doubt took root in their hearts...
"Everyone, take heart! I'm right here!"
A ray of hope cut across the battlefield.
Princess Irena, clad in silver armor, raised her sword high to the heavens.
The light pouring from the sky merged with the holy power emanating from Maru, erupting in blinding radiance.
The glow flowed down the blade of her sword.
It was a truly holy sight.
Princess Irena slowly, very slowly, dismounted and advanced forward.
Vetter cried out as she approached.
【Ku, kugh! Is this the power of light?! But it's futile!】
The Death Knight King reacted immediately to Vetter's shout.
He gathered all his dark power.
This time, not one sphere, but dozens, hundreds filled the sky.
"With sacred light, dispel the darkness!"
Princess Irena charged, sword aglow.
At the same time, the jet-black spheres rained down upon her.
"Princess! No!"
Lennon, realizing too late, lunged toward her.
Boom—KABOOM!
A massive explosion erupted from the clash between Irena and the monster.
The shockwave was tremendous.
Riiiing—
Ears rang, sound vanishing entirely.
Vast light and dark energies mingled with the explosion's dust cloud, obscuring all vision.
No, it was completely blacked out.
Everyone instinctively shut their eyes and covered their ears.
"Excellent. That was perfect. Vetter, your acting was outstanding."
"Thank you, Lady Celia."
Celia, who had appeared out of nowhere, praised Vetter.
Humans were nearby, but it didn't matter.
They were blocking their eyes and ears right now.
Beyond that, thick dust filled the air, and Maru was emitting a vast holy light.
Even if they opened their eyes, they wouldn't spot anything.
"Death Knight King, you worked hard syncing with Vetter. Please hang in there until the end."
The Death Knight King nodded brightly at Celia's unexpected encouragement.
Celia turned to Irena next.
Irena had followed the plan perfectly this time, making everything go smoothly.
"Now then, Princess Irena? It's not over yet. Shall we put the finishing touch?"
At Celia's words, Princess Irena assumed her pose.
Thrusting her sword into the Death Knight King's body.
Of course, the Death Knight King felt no pain. The princess was an ordinary human, after all—no real damage.
But the play wasn't over, so he pretended to collapse.
To any onlooker, it would look like Princess Irena's sword had slain the Death Knight King.
"Well, once this is all done, you won't be a princess anymore."
Celia smiled as she spoke.
Countless witnesses had seen Irena's exploits.
Not just the kingdom's citizens, but the royal knights in huge numbers.
Even if Princess Irena didn't want it, she would walk the path to queenship.
Above all, the surviving Holy Knights and Vice Captain Liana had witnessed it with their own eyes.
"The Church's attention will be immense, too."
Irena nodded silently at Celia's words.
Even if it was all an act, officially, Princess Irena had defeated a 7-star calamity.
This was no small matter.
The Church's focus would be on her for a while.
Tedious events would arise, but Irena was resolved.
"Good. Once this is over, you'll formally serve the Great One. Don't forget—it's a tremendous honor."
Irena was already captivated by the Great One's power.
Serving such a being was glory itself to her.
"Once you claim the throne, compile and submit everything about the Sail Kingdom you never knew. The kingdom will be reborn."
Now the real beginning started.
"We'll meet again soon, Princess Irena. No—Queen Irena."
The moment Princess Irena became queen of Sail Kingdom, it would cease to be a human nation.
Celia turned away.
Necros and Vetter followed, skeletons carrying the unconscious Count Beerton behind them.
Only Irena and the Death Knight King remained amid the dust as the monsters departed.
And slowly, the light began to fade.
The dust settled, and the light vanished.
As vision cleared, people immediately searched for the princess.
She had clashed with the calamity known as the King of Death.
Their minds had already concluded she'd lost.
But they clung to a sliver of hope.
Humans always wished for miracles, praying the princess had survived.
And then.
"......!"
Everyone wore expressions of disbelief.
"P-Princess?"
Even Lennon, who had guarded her for so long, looked like he'd seen a ghost.
Princess Irena, whom they'd desperately hoped would live, stood alive.
And not just that.
Her sword pierced straight through the King of Death.
"Gods... a miracle has occurred..."
A Holy Knight murmured in awe.
The royal knights wept with joy at her survival, embracing one another.
The citizens roared cheers that shook the earth.
"Long live Princess Irena!"
"Long live Her Highness!"
The people cheered, eyes fixed on Princess Irena.
Irena slowly withdrew her sword from the monster.
Then raised it high to the sky.
"We have won!"
At her voice, everyone knelt.
Citizens, royal knights, Holy Knights—all dropped to their knees.
Vice Captain Liana, leader of the Holy Knight Order, knelt and whispered softly.
"The true Saintess has been born."
Princess Irena was no longer just a princess.
She would be revered as the hero who saved the continent from evil, the apostle and Saintess of the Goddess.
The long, grueling battle had ended.
Princess Irena led her knights back to the palace.
The surviving citizens rebuilt the ruins.
Above all, the kingdom's nobles pledged full support for the capital's restoration.
It was only natural.
Count Beerton, leader of the noble faction, was the criminal who summoned the calamity.
But the calamity met its end at Princess Irena's hands.
Even if Count Beerton vanished, he would be branded a continental heretic.
Moreover, this incident gave Princess Irena the perfect justification.
The Saintess who saved the continent.
All who witnessed her feats proclaimed it so.
Now, Princess Irena effectively had the White Church's backing.
Who would dare oppose the royals?
The nobles scrambled to curry favor without a second thought.
From Princess Irena to the citizens, everyone moved busily.
Vice Captain Liana, who had come as the Church's envoy, was no exception.
"So the King of Death's true form was a Death Knight King..."
Vice Captain Liana gazed at the calamity the princess had felled.
Its identity was indeed a Death Knight King.
The monster whose nature Princess Irena said she'd learned from the Great One.
'If she heard it from the Great One, it must be a divine oracle from the Goddess.'
Vice Captain Liana thought of Princess Irena.
'I thought she was just a frail princess...'
But she'd hidden her power.
Suddenly, she recalled the princess's meaningful words about returning to the palace to wrap things up.
'Well, she must have arrived by now.'
More than enough time had passed.
Vice Captain Liana had a feeling Sail Kingdom's ruler would change soon.
"Makes sense. She's already secured the justification."
Even if she deposed her own father and took the throne, no one would object.
Princess Irena now wielded that much influence.
Separately, Liana summoned her subordinates to fulfill her duty.
"Lift it carefully!"
They would transport the Death Knight King slain by the princess back to the Church.
Of course, the survivors wouldn't carry it themselves.
They just needed to guard it until reinforcements arrived.
The Church had suffered heavy losses this time.
They'd confirmed the deaths of High Priest Titan and Captain Gerard, with most of the envoy slain. This was the Church's response.
But the Death Knight King's form began fading rapidly.
"Vice Captain! The Death Knight King is dissipating!"
Liana rushed to it, but it had already vanished.
"Have you heard the news? Apparently, a Saintess has been born in Sail Kingdom—it's causing a huge uproar."
The story had already spread rapidly through the Church.
Princess Irena—no, now Queen Irena—had single-handedly defeated a 7-star Death Knight King.
It had gone viral across the continent.
Especially since she claimed the Great One had spoken of the Death Knight King.
It must have been a divine oracle from the Goddess.
Not just Sail Kingdom, but even the Church's priests called Queen Irena the Saintess.
After repelling the calamity, Queen Irena marched her forces straight to the palace.
Even her father, the king, was powerless before the continent's new hero.
Above all, she had the people's support this time.
Traces of demon summoning were found not only in Count Beerton's estate but in most kingdom nobles' homes.
Who could have guessed skeletons would be found in the capital's noble mansions?
But someone had to take responsibility.
It had nearly doomed the entire continent.
In the end, the king stepped down voluntarily.
"This must all be the Goddess's will."
The Church endorsed Irena's ascension as the Goddess's decree.
The kingdom was in chaos, so no formal coronation yet, but Irena was effectively Queen of Sail Kingdom.
But the Church couldn't be entirely pleased.
The White Church already had Saintess Helisa. A second Saintess was unforeseen even by the leadership.
Yet having witnessed Queen Irena's feats, denying her was awkward.
Naturally, this irritated Helisa.
"That pathetic princess dares claim the title of Saintess?"
Helisa refused to acknowledge Irena as Saintess—or even queen.
But the mood favored Irena over Helisa.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
Helisa screamed.
Nothing was going right.
Now, some even doubted Helisa herself.
Continuous disappearances of priests and Holy Knights.
And this time, a 7-star calamity inflicted massive losses on the Church.
Whispers arose within: Was Helisa truly the Saintess?
The situation infuriated Helisa.
"It all started after sending that bastard Yi Kang-hyun back to Earth!"
It began then.
Previously, they'd sent a man named Yi Kang-hyun back to Earth.
Things had gone strangely wrong ever since.
It sounded forced, but as Saintess, Helisa could sense it. Her intuition told her.
Yi Kang-hyun must have done something.
"Did he seriously cast some kind of curse?"
How else could everything go so wrong?
Pondering deeply, Saintess Helisa's eyes sharpened.
"Right. Eliminate him, and it'll all be solved?"
To fix it, remove the root cause.
No matter what anyone said, she was the true Saintess.
"Just get rid of Yi Kang-hyun. Yi Kang-hyun... Find a way to summon him here, no matter what!"
She had forcibly sent Yi Kang-hyun, summoned to Eldorado Continent, back to Earth.
If she could send him back, surely she could summon him again?
No matter how long it took, she'd find the method.
Helisa clasped her hands and began to pray.