The Apostles of the Calamity Gods (1)
Javelin, who had stayed behind in the Hohenberg Marquisate for a short while, felt a surge of frustration upon hearing that all train services heading to the imperial capital had been canceled. What now…?
If she kept dawdling like this, that old maid was going to swallow Edanant whole. Her journey had already been delayed because she’d been examining the White Night Scepter stored in Fairy’s Haven. Frowning, Javelin rented a carriage from the marquisate. Of course using a carriage would slow her down considerably, but this was no time to complain.
She thought of the Platinum Princess who had vanished without a word a few days earlier and let out an impatient sigh.
“Saintess!”
Just as she was about to climb into the carriage, a holy knight clad in full plate armor came running, panting heavily. Had something gone wrong? The knight’s face was deathly pale, as if he’d seen a ghost.
“U-urgent news from the Gael Holy Kingdom…! A fiend who worships the Calamity Gods has appeared!”
“A Calamity God?”
An ominous title slipped from her lips. A fiend of the Calamity Gods. Just hearing it sent a wave of unease washing over her. The Gael Holy Kingdom was a nation that revered the Earth Mother Gael, a deity of the creation lineage. Naturally, to them, any follower of the Calamity Gods was a heretic that had to be eradicated at all costs.
That was why the Holy Kingdom had continued to cooperate with the empire in subjugating fiends and cultists—to prevent the Calamity Gods from rising.
“Sir Alferid has been defeated by the fiend. The entire subjugation force that marched out to eliminate it has been wiped out.”
“This is no matter to take lightly.”
The Sword of the Earth Mother had fallen before the followers of the Calamity Gods. It was a truly humiliating outcome. A guardian knight who served the Holy Emperor, cut down so brutally. The cardinals were probably foaming at the mouth right now, scrambling to reorganize another subjugation force. After all, this was a catastrophe that had dragged the Holy Kingdom’s dignity through the mud.
They might even order the First Saintess currently stationed in the empire to return at once.
“But… there were no fatalities.”
“It must be some wicked scheme by the cultists trying to drag the Holy Kingdom’s honor through the dirt.”
“Or perhaps it’s a peculiar fiend who has never killed anyone before.”
“What? Surely no such fiend exists.”
Even though Guardian Knight Alferid had been defeated and the Holy Kingdom’s elite forces had been completely annihilated, strangely enough, not a single person had died. They had only suffered severe injuries that left them unable to fight. Why?
The cultists had always treated the Holy Kingdom as their mortal enemy. Could it be that a fiend who worshipped the Calamity Gods actually followed a creed of not killing?
Until now, cultist forces had thoroughly slaughtered anyone connected to the Holy Kingdom. They had even committed atrocities against civilians with no ties to the kingdom. That was precisely why both the empire and the Holy Kingdom had labeled the fiends as cruel, merciless monsters.
‘A Calamity God… of all times, a fiend of the Calamity Gods had to appear now.’
While the empire’s dissidents continued to cause one disaster after another, a fiend worshipping the Calamity Gods had emerged in the Holy Kingdom, pushing the situation to the brink of explosion. Could it really be a coincidence?
A dark, murky sense of foreboding began to coil around her instincts like a serpent.
Isabel had sent an invitation. She asked me to please attend her tea party. Since there was no reason to refuse, I accepted. Of course, I had a pretty good idea of what she was really thinking.
As expected, Ludmilla was also present at the tea party. Hmm. How does she never miss the mark? To think she would push for a meeting so blatantly.
I sat down with the same rigid posture as someone attending a marriage meeting. Ludmilla seemed to feel the same way; her face was tense with nerves.
“Ahem! So you really were the guest.”
“It was Her Highness Isabel’s invitation, after all.”
Anyone could see this was clearly a matchmaking session disguised as a tea party. That was why the atmosphere between Ludmilla—who I had been getting along with like close friends—and me had become unbearably awkward.
What was I supposed to say? My mouth felt strangely dry.
On the other hand, Lue, who had entered the tea party with energetic steps, was crunching away on butter cookies and somehow managing to lighten the suffocating atmosphere.
“Oh my, you two already have such a cute daughter…”
“We do not!”
Isabel clapped her hands in delight. Ludmilla’s face turned bright red as she shouted in a flustered voice.
“……”
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Ugh, just imagining it is horrifying.”
“Hieeeek!”
I briefly imagined what it would be like if the mischievous fairy were my daughter. It was dreadful. Just thinking about it made my head throb. I let out a heavy sigh and shook my head. Lue jumped in surprise.
“There are so many things I want to hear that I invited the protagonists of the latest scandal to my tea party. As the eldest daughter of the imperial family, I must encourage my little sister to experience a healthy romance. Though honestly, I’d prefer to just make it an established fact.”
“S-Sister!”
Isabel usually had the gentle demeanor of a noble lady, but when it came to romance, she was surprisingly aggressive. As expected of a princess who had succeeded in a love marriage, she displayed passionate values. I never knew she had this side to her. She truly was the eldest daughter of that fiery-tempered emperor.
The tea party continued in its strange atmosphere. Ever since I had confessed my feelings for Ludmilla, Isabel had been showing us nothing but goodwill. Even while keeping the conversation going, she kept subtly hinting that she would support the two of us.
“Does the refreshment suit your taste, adorable fairy lady?”
“The cream cake topped with tons of fruit is so delicious! I want to tell all the Luinong fairies who have only just stepped out into the outside world about this!”
“Hehe, hearing such high praise is an honor. I made all the refreshments myself, you know.”
“Really?! Your skills are amazing!”
When Lue’s eyes sparkled as she spoke, Isabel smiled knowingly. She took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the cream smeared around Lue’s mouth. They looked just like a mother and daughter. Isabel’s lips curved with pure maternal love as she looked at Lue. At the same time, I could sense a deep sadness.
“Will you be attending the banquet as well?”
“Yes, of course.”
When I noticed the sorrow hidden in Isabel’s smile and felt a flicker of doubt, Ludmilla quickly changed the subject with an urgent voice, as if trying to divert attention. She must have a secret she wanted to hide. Since I had no desire to pry into what might be a traumatic secret, I went along with her intention.
“Your Highness.”
A maid attending Isabel approached and bowed as she delivered the news.
“Her Highness Elizabeta has just arrived.”
“Liza?”
Both Isabel and Ludmilla looked shocked at the news. I was no different. How had she arrived so quickly? All the trains should have been suspended. Unless she had used short-range teleportation magic multiple times in an extreme method, how could she have traveled from the marquisate to the capital so fast? It was logically impossible. Unless the fairies had worked some kind of magic…
“Sister Isabel!”
A princess with beautiful flowing golden hair appeared, stepping lightly. Several fairies followed behind her like bridesmaids at a wedding. She must have borrowed the power of the Luinong fairies. The fairies of paradise possessed mysteries that could turn the impossible into reality. I greeted her with a smile as I looked at the grinning Elizabeta.
The Apostle of the Calamity Gods who had trampled the Holy Kingdom’s subjugation force to test the power of the Sage now performed a spatial leap toward the empire. Meanwhile, another Apostle hid in the shadows, manipulating puppets filled with vengeful hearts. All to bring down the empire. And to avenge their brothers and sisters who had been slaughtered by the empire’s watchdogs.
Finally, the Apostles of the Calamity Gods who had returned to the mortal realm began preparing their revenge. With the new divinity and powers granted to them in the Chaos Realm, they could easily drown both the empire and the Holy Kingdom in blood.
“A banquet will be held at the imperial palace tomorrow! That is when we will strike down Barbarossa!”
Some of the nobles attending the banquet had promised to join the cause. Rebel forces hiding near the capital were waiting for the order. Moreover, the preparations to draw out the empire’s Red Dragon had just been completed.
It was perfect. The chance of failure was slim. The puppets, bewitched by their desire for revenge against the Valtaria imperial family, moved like perfectly meshed gears. This was only possible because they had a strategist who possessed the Heavenly Eye.
“Strategist, we will carry out the great undertaking tomorrow!”
“Do so. Never forgive that mad emperor who mercilessly slaughtered even his own blood relatives.”
The elderly man addressed as “Strategist” by the rebel leader let out a hearty laugh. His face was covered in wrinkles. Yet his eyes gleamed as sharply as a bird of prey. The old man who had ordered the puppets to call him Strategist was an Apostle who served the Calamity Gods.
The Apostle of the Calamity Gods who had safely infiltrated the capital injected one final brainwashing into the puppets, amplifying their vengeful hatred toward the Valtaria imperial family.
‘For humans, revenge is the ultimate driving force. It will burn endlessly, like sulfur flames that never go out.’
The old man had also lost precious family members to the Valtaria Empire. He had lost them all. Not a single one remained. He had been forced to scream in despair without even being able to recover their bodies.
He had returned from the Chaos Realm with the single-minded determination to drive out the empire and the Holy Kingdom and revive their faith, but he had been too late. Three whole years had already passed.
He understood the hearts of the nobles who had joined the rebellion better than anyone. That was why the old man intended to use those nobles as puppets to achieve the ascension of evil.
‘Something has felt strange for a while now. The activation of the blessing isn’t going smoothly. It feels like something is interfering.’
The blessing of the Calamity God, which had been flowing as smoothly as waves, kept stuttering and reconnecting as if it were hitting some kind of obstacle. It was a phenomenon he had experienced before. It usually happened whenever an Apostle who had received the blessing of a Calamity God was nearby. That was why the old man found it even more strange.
‘Ariel couldn’t have crossed into the empire already… What could it be? Don’t tell me there’s another Apostle of the Calamity Gods in the capital?’
It was impossible. The other Apostles besides Ariel were all in the Holy Kingdom. There couldn’t be a new Apostle in the capital. After all, every Apostle of the Calamity Gods who had led forces for the ascension of evil had died during the Racial War. Therefore, the old man completely dismissed the possibility that a new Apostle might exist.