Chapter 117: The Vision of Disaster

The Holy Kingdom of Hibernia.

A religious kingdom bordering the empire, with the Gran Dina Mountains stretching out to its west.

Even during the era when many gods were worshipped, the nation revered the goddess Liphyue, and now, even with the divinity of other gods vanished, it remained faithful to the god Liphyue.

It was the only order capable of wielding Holy Power, but that, too, was gradually weakening, and as a result, the power of the kingdom was also declining.

It was in such an age that the birth of the Holy Maiden became an opportunity for many to remember the name ‘Liphyue’ once more.

The Order of Liphyue became widely known across the continent once again.

That holy young girl saw the future.

She foresaw a future where Hibernia’s Kingdom’s Capital would fall and burn.

A Dragon of legend, once thought to exist only in old tales, would appear and invade Hibernia.

So preparations were necessary.

But how?

Suddenly, a Dragon would appear, burn the Kingdom’s Capital, and bring down the Order.

When, and how? Why?

The vision was so vague that no one could even guess.

Still, in this era where even oracles from the Rifue Cult Oracle had all but vanished, the sight and feelings experienced by the Holy Maiden were clear abnormalities.

That is, the revelation from the god was unmistakable.

With unshakeable faith, Hibernia moved as one.

“We must summon all priests who can use Holy Power.”

It wasn’t a long or particularly difficult task.

It just so happened that the quarterly Great Prayer Assembly was in progress, and all bishops and higher-ranked priests were gathered in the Kingdom’s Capital.

“We must train and prepare so that we can use the Divine Blessing at any time.”

The Divine Blessing was the strongest protective shield guarding Hibernia.

A miracle-like Holy Power that had protected the kingdom since ancient times.

Of course, in recorded history, it had been used so rarely that only the method had been passed down.

Hence, the suggestion to practice and train.

“We’ll need to combine everyone’s Holy Power.”

It was a call for all to unite their strength to confront an unknown crisis.

And soon, results followed.

“Evil things are pouring from the Gate!”

An Abyss Gate had erupted.

Hibernia was aware of the dangers posed by the Gates and responded swiftly.

However, the problem was that, compared to its vast land, there weren’t many famed strong warriors.

Though not as many as in the empire, there were over ten Gates, and no one can block ten with just one hand.

Just a few strong fighters weren’t nearly enough.

They were slowly pushed back from each Gate location, and the damage continued to grow.

It was then that the priests gathered in the Kingdom’s Capital shone brightly.

Those who had been training in Hibernia’s unique Divine Blessing, following the Holy Maiden’s prophecy, recognized the crisis and activated the Divine Blessing.

High Priests of bishop rank and above, Cardinal Herald Guggenberger, and the Holy Maiden herself.

All their Holy Power combined to manifest a massive defensive shield that enveloped the entire kingdom.

It was a scene that clearly showed why Hibernia had a history as long as the empire’s.

A miracle proving how, through countless ages with countless religious orders rising and falling, the sole Holy Kingdom managed to endure.

With the weakened Holy Power of this era, it should have been impossible to cloak the entire kingdom with Divine Blessing.

But the Holy Maiden was truly a Holy Maiden.

When Irina poured every last drop of her Holy Power into it, an abnormally massive surge of Holy Power erupted.

The miracle light of Liphyue. The Holy Power.

Though the light that enveloped all of Hibernia lasted but a short while, it was enough.

The Abyss’s weakness was clearly Holy Power.

Though a few monsters withstood the brief Divine Blessing, they had exhausted all their strength just to endure, and were soon skewered by the swords of the Kingdom’s knights, whose morale was at its peak.

In any case, whether by coincidence or the decree of Liphyue, Hibernia became the first kingdom to overcome the crisis.

And once again, the people praised the Holy Maiden.

“As expected of the Holy Maiden.”

“She foresaw the invasion of those tainted by evil.”

“Thanks to her, we held them off with minimal damage.”

Though countless High Priests, Cardinal Herald Guggenberger, and even the Holy Maiden Irina herself had poured out all their Holy Power and were left utterly exhausted, they had survived a great crisis.

What Irina saw—everyone now believed—had been this event.

Had not all the priests joined forces as she said, perhaps the kingdom truly would have burned, and the Order would have fallen.

As long as the Holy Maiden remained, they felt safe.

It was over, they thought.

They overcame the crisis and were reassured.

But how uneasy and fragile that relief truly was.

Neither Irina, nor Herald, nor any of the High Priests had recovered much Holy Power at all.

That kind of incomplete reassurance could, in truth, be called carelessness.

While everyone was letting down their guard, convinced they had overcome the ominous prophecy—

***

Disaster began.

They held back the monsters pouring from the Gate.

The day all the priests combined their strength to perform the miracle of the Divine Blessing. The day all of Hibernia’s citizens witnessed Liphyue’s miracle.

Everyone rejoiced, yet a heavy fatigue pressed down on them.

Even the sky, which had been a clear blue all day, was now dyed red, as if exhausted.

The soldiers who had risked their lives fighting all day were now cleaning up the battlefield to the very end.

They wanted to finish the day quickly, talk about what had happened, and fall asleep—but their duties needed to be completed first.

Even if they were tired, they could still feel the pure white Holy Power in their bodies.

It was a historic day, and they were warriors who had fought on the frontlines of such an event.

One of those soldiers straightened his back, wiping away his sweat.

The thought of returning home soon brought a happy smile to his lips.

But it took only a few seconds for that smiling mouth to fall open.

“What… is that?”

A sky ablaze with red at sunset.

Something huge, as if flying straight into the sun, soared directly toward the twilight.

At a glance, its form evoked only one word.

“…….A Dragon?!”

A creature that had only ever appeared in childhood fairy tales.

Ignoring the dazed soldier’s exclamation, the enormous form flew on and on, passing swiftly over the battlefield near the Gate and across the skies of a typical city.

“Wow! It’s a Dragon! A Dragon!”

“Don’t be stupid. There’s no such thing as Dragons in the real world.”

“But look! It’s flying in the sky!”

“W-wha…?”

The twilight sky, almost free of clouds.

The Dragon’s flight through it was so conspicuous, it was impossible to miss.

Everyone along its path—nearly all of the kingdom’s citizens—ended up witnessing the Dragon flying straight toward a single destination.

To them, Dragons were creatures of legend.

So their excitement only grew.

On the day the god’s blessing was unveiled, a legendary being appeared.

Surely, this too was divine grace.

They rejoiced and prayed, believing Liphyue’s hand had descended once more upon this land.

They saw it as a good omen.

But when that massive and majestic flight was witnessed near the Kingdom’s Capital—

“D-d-dragon! A Dragon!”

The reaction was entirely different.

“The Dragon from the prophecy has appeared!”

A sky dyed crimson.

A Dragon had truly appeared.

Just as in the prophecy.

It was an ill omen.

Alarm bells rang out in a state of emergency, and all forces preparing to end the day quickly regrouped at the palace.

The highest-ranking priests of the Order, upon receiving the report, quickly gathered as well.

“Where is it?”

“The last report was from Radahn.”

“If it’s Radahn, there’s still a decent distance…”

“Ne-new report! The Dragon has left Radahn and is now almost at the Kingdom’s Capital…!”

A speed beyond human comprehension.

Not something to be measured by human standards.

“A Dragon? Isn’t that a creature said to have disappeared in the distant past? Is that really…?”

“Now is not the time for such talk! We need a countermeasure—quickly!”

“But why the Holy Kingdom, of all places? There must be some reason…”

“Could it be that it’s friendly to us? According to the stories, Dragons possessed intelligence no less than humans, so maybe we could try to communicate…”

“Enough! After hearing the Holy Maiden’s prophecy, how can you speak such nonsense?!”

A heavy sense of fatigue and confusion.

That was the mood in the room.

Everyone in Hibernia’s leadership had heard Irina’s prophecy, but only the most devout truly believed it.

A Dragon would appear beneath a red sky and destroy the Order and the Kingdom’s Capital.

It was hard to believe, and the prophecy itself left much room for interpretation.

Red sky and Dragon meant ominousness, and Irina would be the one to confront it.

In short, they could interpret it as: something terrible is coming, so be prepared and overcome it with Holy Power.

In fact, they had magnificently repelled the Abyss Monsters.

They thought the prophecy had been fulfilled, and yet now, suddenly, a real Dragon appeared.

Confusion was inevitable.

“Pull yourselves together. The fact is, the Dragon is coming this way. Don’t hold on to false hope—prepare for the worst.”

Reports of Dragon sightings continued to come in from all directions.

There was no time to waste on foolish talk of negotiations; they had to think of the worst-case scenario and prepare.

“Lady Irina, what do you think?”

All eyes turned to the Holy Maiden, Irina, dressed in her pure white sacred robes.

The most sacred woman chosen by the god, and the very subject of the prophecy.

Such was Irina.

“We must gather our Holy Power again.”

She spoke of deploying the Divine Blessing once more.

“But I heard Holy Power doesn’t recover that quickly.”

“Still, we must do it somehow. That… is surely the disaster I saw.”

Even with almost all their Holy Power depleted, there was no other way.

The future Irina had seen was one of utter destruction at the Dragon’s hands.

“…Understood.”

All the priests gathered once more to deploy the Divine Blessing.

And it wasn’t long before the Dragon appeared over the Kingdom’s Capital.

Its scales, glittering in the sunlight, now shone blood-red in the crimson sunset.

Krrrrr…

A colossal body that made the entire royal palace seem to rise up.

The Dragon’s gleaming reptilian eyes were ferocious, brimming with inexplicable hostility.

Its menacing form was visible even from the very center of the Order’s headquarters.

“I-it’s really here…”

“That’s the Dragon of legend…”

The priests’ agitation was understandable, but now was not the time to panic.

“Focus. We’re beginning.”

The heart of the Order.

This place, long called the Sanctuary, was in fact meant for casting the Divine Blessing.

All the High Priests formed a circle, pouring what little Holy Power remained into the spell.

“Don’t expand it. Focus on concentration and defense!”

Under the command of Cardinal Herald, the Divine Blessing was once again deployed.

A pure white shield of Holy Power densely enveloped the Kingdom’s Capital.

Of course, this was only possible because all the remaining Holy Power of the High Priests and Irina had been squeezed out, and the spell’s effects were focused solely on defense, with no room for anything else.

But then.

Kwaaaang-!

When the Dragon crashed its enormous body into the shield, it shook dangerously, as if it would shatter at any moment.

“Khk.”

Even among the High Priests, those with weak Holy Power could not endure a single strike and collapsed.

“Fire arrows! Fire the catapults!”

They launched all manner of attacks at the Dragon from outside, but it was useless.

Despite the size of the target—almost as big as the palace itself—nothing struck home, and not a single scale was pierced.

Not a single weapon could pierce even one scale of the ancient creature that had once been the mightiest in existence.

Kwaang-!

After several crashes, only a few priests were left standing.

Cardinal Herald, Irina, and just three others.

Only five maintained the Divine Blessing, struggling to hold back the Dragon.

Kwaaaang-!

But now, even that was reaching its limit.

There were only five left.

Kwaang-!

No, now four.

Kwang!

Three.

Kwaaaang-!

“Liphyue…!”

Two.

After several impacts, only two remained.

Herald and Irina.

Blood was already streaming from Herald’s lips, and his frail, outstretched arms trembled uncontrollably.

“What… what should we do?”

Why today, of all days?

Why appear now, right after they had repelled the evil things that emerged from the Abyss Gate with Holy Power?

What sort of trial was this?

“Liphyue!”

Herald Guggenberger.

The aged servant who had devoted his whole life to the Order cried out to his god even as he collapsed, coughing blood.

“Please…”

The goddess Liphyue.

The primordial god, present since the beginning of human history.

Another name for her was—

“A sliver of hope for us, who are so ignorant…”

Hope.

“Liphyue.”

Herald sought hope to his last breath, yearning for an answer.

As he poured out every bit of Holy Power in his body, he fell at last.

Now, only one remained.

Irina.

The child loved by Liphyue.

The most sacred girl.

“G-grandfather Herald…”

Irina’s eyes trembled uncontrollably.

Her dependable Herald had fallen.

Nearby, dozens of other priests were in a similar state.

Above, the enormous Dragon glared down at the earth with the eyes of an absolute being.

“This is…”

Wasn’t this just like the scene she had seen not long ago?

***

Fallen priests.

The Dragon in the sky.

Irina’s boundless Holy Power had truly reached its end, and the pure white shield was fading away.

“W-what should I do…”

Her hands, flailing in confusion, couldn’t support her body and she collapsed to the floor.

She had made it this far with composure, but now even Herald had fallen.

Though she was respected as the most sacred girl and had matured under the weight of her responsibility, inside, Irina was still a fragile soul.

Even while trembling, she tried to rise again.

“I… I have to do it… I have to, somehow…”

But her body wouldn’t obey.

It was already the second time today she’d deployed the Divine Blessing. Even a Holy Maiden could not withstand such strain.

To make matters worse, Irina’s hair, as she slumped, began whipping wildly.

A wind had begun to blow.

“The Dragon’s doing something!”

“Shoot arrows! Faster!”

“Uwaaaah!”

The green scales glowed an even deeper hue as the Dragon’s jaws parted wide.

A fierce gale surged from its maw.

The wind gathered.

A fierce wind was blowing.

The enormous quantity of magic gathered alongside it was so overwhelming that even Irina and the soldiers—who knew nothing of magic—could clearly feel it.

“N-no…!”

They knew, instinctively.

The moment that was released, the moment it touched down, everything would be reduced to ashes.

Just as in the vision, the Order would fall, the royal palace would burn, and the land would be covered in corpses.

So, even as they struggled pathetically, it was futile.

She couldn’t muster any Holy Power or even steady herself.

The air was being sucked toward the Dragon, and its presence only seemed to grow.

“S-stop it!”

“No! Fire! Fire, I said—fire more, faster!”

“Ah, Liphyue!”

Everyone gathered there could feel it.

The moment that attack was unleashed, all would vanish without a trace.

Some were despairing.

Some were making one last, futile effort.

Some tried to flee, turning their backs.

In that chaotic instant—

KWAaaaa—

The maelstrom of wind and magic burst forth like a Dragon’s breath.

A breath of utter despair, sweeping away everything in its path.

“Ah…”

Irina stared up at it, blankly, letting out a sigh.

What should one recall in the face of violence incarnate?

Should she, as a devout priest, pray and call upon her god?

Or, as an ordinary person, simply drown in despair?

No.

What Irina remembered was neither of those.

Suddenly, what came to mind was the back of a certain person.

Why was he coming to mind now? Was it because this situation was so similar to that time, when she could do nothing by herself?

The only one who had protected her, when everyone ignored her and drove her friends away.

She knew he could not possibly be here, so why…

And at that very moment—

Paaa—

A flash of brilliant yellow light.

It flooded Hibernia’s sky with a dazzling golden glow.

If one were to swing a spear tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, an infinite number of times, it might look like this.

The yellow light, flooding the sky in an instant, completely blocked the roaring Dragon’s breath.

Even those who had turned to flee…

Even those despairing and beating their heads against the ground…

Even those crying tears as they called upon Liphyue—all raised their heads to look up at the sky.

…Aerial.

Yellow light filled Irina’s eyes, and she too saw it.

The sudden appearance of a man before the Dragon’s very eyes.

Remember me.

He spoke incomprehensible words as he appeared.