“Regardless, I can’t let Hio go on a raid alone.”
While she had accepted all of Hio’s other opinions, Sylvia was firm when it came to the matter of organizing an expeditionary force.
“I am not saying I don’t trust you, Hio. This is for our Empire. It will be more beneficial for the Empire to increase the probability of success, even if only by a little.”
“I understand what you’re saying, but honestly, they’ll just get in the way.”
At this point, an expeditionary force would only be a hindrance.
They would struggle just to resist the Abyssal energy, let alone be of any real help in dealing with the Strange Entities. To the knights who had served in previous expeditionary forces, these words would have been beyond disappointing—they would have been insulting.
Hio could only say this because only Sylvia and Theodore were present.
“I… I am aware of that from the reports. Even on the 58th Floor, the expeditionary force ended up holding Hio back.”
“Well… that’s not entirely wrong…”
It was true that they had been a burden, but that was only in hindsight. At the time, a solo raid was impossible, so an expeditionary force had been absolutely necessary. It was just that such a need no longer existed.
“That’s why you can’t go alone.”
“…But Sylvia, as I said, an expeditionary force would only be a hindrance—”
“No. They won’t be a hindrance.”
As Sylvia spoke firmly, the doors behind her slowly began to open. Through the center of the heavy, slowly parting doors, one person walked in with an imposing gait.
“Because there is only one person in the expeditionary force supporting you.”
Behind a thick mane of blonde hair, a massive flickering silhouette hid a quiet but ferocious power. It was the form of the Imperial Golden Lion, an ideation specialized in dominion and offense.
Though incomplete at the time, this was the Great Star of the Sword—the one who had driven back the Airlights, who had achieved divinity, with a single blade.
“The Order of the Sword will go with you.”
Meeting the golden eyes of Vitalianus, Hio’s lips curled into a smirk.
“That’s a more reliable expeditionary force than I could have asked for.”
***
Searching for the Suicide Squad.
Gathering strength to oppose Kreutzvalt.
Finding a way to walk to the World’s End.
While all of these things were important, establishing a solid foundation was equally vital. In terms of a foundation, that meant creating a framework of faith.
The Verden Continent was far too different from Earth. Naturally, the doctrines had to be different from those of the Heavenly Demon Cult, and the approach had to be different as well. In that regard, Irina was the most optimal Apostle for the Verden Continent.
No matter how famous Hio was as a hero on the continent, the Order of Liphyue, which had existed since ancient times, was a different story. It was impossible for him to swallow that massive organization whole on his own, and attempting to do so by force would surely lead to trouble.
If he suddenly appeared and claimed, “Liphyue is dead and I am God!” would the existing priests of Liphyue just sit still? Not only would they refuse to believe him, but he’d be lucky if they didn’t become hostile due to blasphemy.
Therefore, appointing Irina as an Apostle was a very wise decision.
As the Holy Maiden, she was the woman most cherished by Liphyue. Everyone in the world knew her as the most sacred woman chosen by Liphyue’s grace.
What would happen if such a person acknowledged Hio’s words and, furthermore, demonstrated a new and more powerful divinity? The priests would have no choice but to follow, even if they were skeptical.
Thus, he had to give Irina more power.
She needed a different kind of power than Yoon Seulah. Not the authority that established systems and granted rewards and punishments, but a power meant for demonstration—a mysterious and brilliant power that would force them to acknowledge a new god.
That was what was needed.
**[Holy Skill—’Wings of Authority’ has been acquired.]**
**[100,000 Divinity Points have been consumed.]**
**[Holy Skill—’Dust of Evangelism’ has been acquired.]**
**[53,000 Divinity Points have been consumed.]**
**[Holy Skill—’Wind of Relief’ has been acquired.]**
**[60,000 Divinity Points have been consumed.]**
**[Would you like to transfer the Holy Skills—’Wings of Authority’, ‘Dust of Evangelism’, and ‘Wind of Relief’ to the Apostle, ‘Irina’?]**
**[Transferring Holy Skills to the Apostle, ‘Irina’.]**
**[30,000 Divinity Points will be consumed.]**
Because of this, the Divinity Points he had been accumulating since purchasing his authorities hit rock bottom again. However, he didn’t regret it in the least.
‘Wings of Authority’, ‘Dust of Evangelism’, and ‘Wind of Relief’ were skills well worth the cost. Having inherited all of them, Irina would act across an even broader range, saving people and spreading Hio’s name.
She would bring life to the dead earth, freshness to the stale air, and call forth divinity once more to the entire continent. And she was certain to slowly present Hio with an immense amount of faith.
Therefore, there were three things Hio had to do to spread faith across the Verden Continent.
First, observe the slowly changing continent as it was.
Second, stay behind Irina as much as possible.
Third, maintain a sense of mystery like the old gods by not showing himself to the public.
Good news began to spread across a continent that had seen nothing but disasters for nearly two years.
It started in Hibernia.
The winds of change began in the skies above the Sanctuary. The Holy Kingdom had been on the verge of destruction as the Abyss pressed in and Strange Entities became rampant. In the black sky of Hibernia, an abyss deeper than the Abyss itself appeared.
And with it, a mysterious being emerged.
According to the testimony of a soldier on the scene, it was like watching a battle between gods. A war where darkness and light collided, where Strange Entities and monsters were tangled together, and where even Dragons fell.
However, in the end, it was light that remained, and the identity of that light was said to be the hero rumored to be dead and the last Magician of this world—Hio Pavlenko.
That was the beginning.
All sorts of unbelievable rumors swirled, but no one had actually seen Hio Pavlenko, who was at the center of them all. Had he truly become a god after resurrecting from death?
Rumors gave birth to more rumors, and when doubt and mystery intertwined, faith was created. In the midst of chaos, faith spreads because it is indistinguishable from rumor.
Then came the rumors about the Holy Maiden who had become an Apostle. An angel who flew through the sky on snowy white wings, saving those tainted by the Abyss. Most thought these were exaggerated tales, but they soon realized the rumors weren’t exaggerations—if anything, they were understatements.
Empowered by three Holy Skills, Irina moved as if she had grown wings—no, she actually flew with wings provided by Hio. Her activities reached beyond Hibernia and into the Empire.
New divinity sprouted wherever the angel passed. Holy Power, which had been the exclusive symbol of High Priests, began to manifest in the bodies of those who witnessed the angel and began to worship her.
In this way, the Order of Patience and Magic slowly took root in people’s minds.
The Empire was stretching its limbs.
It began to loosen its stiffened body. The flow of troops, which had been practically at a standstill, moved actively to drive out the Abyss Monsters lurking throughout the Empire.
Along with them, priests moved to spread Holy Power, and the lands of death began to regain their original appearance.
Due to the significant lack of High Priests, the area being purified was extremely small compared to the speed at which monsters were being cleared, but that alone put the citizens of the Empire at ease.
There was only one reason they could do this. It was because they were making no preparations for the failure of the 71st Floor. All the troops that should have been held in reserve in case of failure were being used for stabilization.
It was something possible only for the Empire—or rather, only for Sylvia Verden. Because all the nobles moved with one heart for the prosperity and well-being of the Empire, they were able to pivot the military forces without any backlash.
But how could they not feel anxious? They wondered why the Empire was acting so suddenly as if there were no tomorrow. They were curious, but the reason was never revealed.
There were only rumors that the raid on the Magyeong would begin once more.
‘How was the expeditionary force composed, and what would they do if they failed?’
Floor 71 suddenly appeared in the midst of these changes.
***
The Gate to the 71st Floor appeared, but Hio had no intention of entering immediately. First, he had to call back the Airlights who were active in Fioria and wait for Vitalianus, who was fighting monsters, to join them without wasting a single moment.
With this much power, there was no need to send a vanguard. Well, at this point, there probably wouldn’t be any Ranker willing to volunteer for the vanguard anyway.
‘…That’s what I thought, anyway.’
So who was this Ranker who had come looking for Hio at this time? He had thought they would be busy cleaning up the mess on Earth and looking out for their own interests in the chaos.
“I’m going too.”
“…You?”
The person nodding in front of Hio was Antiphus Praman. Aside from Hio, he was the highest-ranked individual and a fairly reliable person who had led the Rankers while Hio was away.
“Well, Antiphus, it’s not like you can’t join… but why?”
What was the reason? To be blunt, the Rankers didn’t have the luxury to join the raid. They were people whose hearts were set on their home, not this world. Even if Hio had quickly handled the aftermath, the outside world was vast and there were many problems to solve.
He thought they would leave the raid entirely to him and the Empire since their home was on the verge of destruction and they were struggling with a massive new organization called the Heavenly Demon Cult…
“Is there a reason needed to save the world?”
Antiphus had suddenly arrived and spoke with a smile like an enlightened monk. Hio wasn’t exactly close with Antiphus, but he didn’t remember him having this kind of image.
“I mean… I guess so…?”
“Jijoncheonma. I’ve learned a lot from you. As you probably already know, everything I did stemmed from my own greed.”
“…”
“You might think it’s too late. But even so, it’s to ensure I don’t repeat the same mistakes from now on. I feel like I’ll be able to naturally realize things if I’m with you.”
“Well, as you know, my power will continue to decrease due to my Dominion trait, but maybe I can overcome that one day too?”
“Huh? You had the Dominion trait?”
“Eh?”
“…Never mind.”
He felt like their conversation was slightly missing the mark, but regardless, Antiphus joining would be quite positive. Although he hadn’t awakened his ideation yet, in terms of pure martial prowess, he would possess several top-tier skills, and in an emergency, he had the absolute measure of logging out.
Moreover, Antiphus joining as a representative of the Rankers would send various messages to the other players. Whether looking at it from a power perspective or a long-term perspective, it was a good direction.
“But where is the expeditionary force? I believe the Gate to the 71st Floor has already appeared.”
“Ah, the expeditionary force.”
Hio placed a hand on Antiphus’s shoulder as he looked around and pointed behind him. Following his fingertip, a small dot appeared in the distant, faint sky. It began to grow rapidly, and in less than a few seconds, it began to fill their entire field of vision.
“…A Dragon?”
*Thump—*
A Dragon and a Dragon Knight landed roughly in front of the two men.