#135 Continental Summit (3)
"First, allow me to express my gratitude to all of you for taking the time to join us here from afar despite your busy schedules."
Immediately after Riesta, Heinrich, and Cardinal Cordelia sat side by side in the empty seats at the round table in the center.
"Then, let us begin the Continental Summit."
With the Cardinal's brief greeting, the official meeting began.
"We now face an unprecedented crisis. Perhaps one greater than the two Undying King incidents of the past."
Cardinal Cordelia, who was overseeing the proceedings, let her voice—imbued with holy power—resonate throughout the grand assembly hall.
All eyes focused on her low yet powerful speech, backed by as much experience as the years she had lived.
"A thousand years ago, when the Abyss opened and the Undying King descended upon the world, he shrouded half this land in death."
The people of the continent then had to gather all their strength and pay a terrible price before they could repel the Undying King and his undead legion.
"Three hundred years ago, a dark mage who obtained the Undying King's heart gave birth to the Second Undying King. He brought ruin to the Sarb Empire, then the mightiest power in the world."
But he, too, was successfully subjugated through the cooperation of many, preventing further spread of the damage.
Moreover, unlike before, they had shattered the heart and sealed one of its pieces, believing such an event would never happen again, yet...
"And now, the Third Undying King has revealed himself to the world once more."
Cardinal Cordelia calmly continued her explanation of the newly born Undying King, Hans.
The Kingdom of Tallia in the western continent had been the first to detect him, but Hans displayed cunning movements beyond imagination, toying with them from beginning to end.
The slyness with which he lured the Church into conflict with a vampire clan they were already at odds with.
The ruthlessness with which he used even the dark mages who followed him as bait without hesitation once they had outlived their usefulness.
The mobility with which he leisurely awaited the pursuing punitive forces, mocked them, and escaped with ease.
The stealth with which he nullified the Church's all-out search afterward and concealed himself.
"Hmm..."
"This is... far more than we thought..."
As the Cardinal spoke on, the expressions of those present grew increasingly stern, yet her words continued without end.
The unspeakably evil and cruel living experiments conducted in the Monster Forest of the western continent.
The decisiveness with which he turned the exposure of that laboratory's location to his advantage, drawing the Roselia Grand Temple's forces outside.
And then... his magical prowess, impressive enough to penetrate the Church's ironclad security and steal the Undying King's fragment sealed deep within, despite not having fully inherited the Undying King's power.
And the unimaginable growth speed and meticulous scheming that made all of it possible.
"..."
"...Ahem."
The air around them grew cold, and everyone's expressions turned grave.
And that included.
The Saint, Heinrich, sitting quietly in his seat. 'Wow... Hans, that guy, turns out he was terrifying!' Hearing the facts organized from the Church's perspective, he felt newly horrified by Hans's meticulous maneuvers. 'But no matter how strong the opponent, I, Heinrich, will never give up!' He clenched his fist conspicuously and donned a solemn expression.
Filled with the resolve to fight against the darkness, no matter how deep, for the light of the world.
He felt a few gazes on him from those around him, but he deliberately did not turn to check.
This was absolutely not an act done for others' attention, but one that welled up from the heart!
And so, even as he immersed himself in the role of a righteous warrior and burned with a sense of duty, the speech continued.
"But there is something even more important. Unlike his predecessors, this generation's Undying King does not show blind obsession with something; he thoroughly conceals his tracks and schemes in the shadows behind the world."
What Hans had orchestrated afterward was nothing less than opening the Abyss once more through sacrificial rituals across the continent.
Because of this, countless undead sealed in previous eras broke free from the weakened boundaries of the Abyss, causing great harm to many.
"But the real problem lies elsewhere. As you all know, the 'Madness' of the Abyss has spread across the entire world."
The Madness wormed its way into monsters with weak reason, greatly amplifying their physical abilities and violence, which soon led to chaos across the world.
Not only in monster-dense regions like the northern mountain range called the Monsters' Paradise, but even monsters living quietly in the hills went berserk, causing damage to spread rapidly.
Moreover, this situation was showing signs of escalating over time because the Madness scattered across the world was parasitizing monsters and gradually increasing in quantity.
Once increased, the 'Madness' did not vanish when its host monster was killed; it simply spread back into the world or became nourishment for a stronger monster...
"We have concluded that to quell this Madness, we have no choice but to seal the core of the Madness that emerged alongside it when it was drawn from the Abyss."
This was the conclusion reached by the Church of the Supreme God's investigation team after long examination of the ritual sites where the Abyss had been opened.
Though most of the Madness had shattered and scattered due to the incomplete summoning, there must certainly be a medium that had manifested in the world with tangible form.
And the Undying King was likely hiding it somewhere to use as a weapon to attack the continent.
Furthermore, the recent covert movements of the Undying King's army were equally ominous.
The Church was closely watching the situation, as they looked poised to unleash some great catastrophe.
"Therefore, we must devote our full strength to eliminating the Undying King, the source of all these events. Before things worsen—sooner rather than later. For that, your cooperation is necessary."
Murmur, murmur.
—As Cardinal Cordelia finished her explanation, all those attending the meeting began to whisper at once.
They were high-ranking figures and thus knew the general situation, but much of what she had just announced included numerous facts they had not known.
Moreover, her words contained matters quite sensitive to the Church...
While everyone was gauging the atmosphere, one person seated at the representative table leisurely raised a hand, drawing all eyes to him.
"Listening to your words, I find myself with a question."
A young man with bright blond hair and green eyes, with a nervous impression and an attitude that seemed unconcerned with the gazes around him.
He was Simon Carte Azerion, Crown Prince of the Azerion Empire.
"If the Church had properly managed the fragment from the beginning, the Undying King would never have been resurrected, would he?"
As he said, the Cardinal had just officially admitted to a fault on the part of the Church of the Supreme God.
That the fragment under the Church's management had been stolen, resulting in the Undying King's resurrection.
"Does this mean you admit the Church was at fault for the Undying King's resurrection? That the root of all these events was the Church's complacent response?"
And Crown Prince Simon, for whom daily life itself was a continuation of politics, was not one to overlook such an opponent's weakness.
Though the Church of the Supreme God was powerful, the Azerion Empire was also a hegemonic power that boasted of being the continent's strongest.
Had it been any other time, perhaps not, but he was certain he would never back down when the other side had such an obvious flaw.
"How does the Church intend to take responsibility for this?"
Murmur, murmur.
—And in this place were countless nations that had suffered damage from this incident.
Public opinion would be on his side as well, making this the perfect opportunity to diminish the Church's influence. 'Excellent. I was already irritated by how strong the Church's power had grown.' It was an undeniable truth that the stronger the clerical authority, the weaker the imperial authority.
And now, the Church of the Supreme God's prestige was enough to surpass the Empire. 'I am one who will become the Emperor who rules the Empire. I acknowledge the authority of the Supreme God, but I cannot tolerate his servants standing above my head. If I can suppress them with this opportunity, nothing could be better.' Believing in the Supreme God was a separate matter.
To Simon, priests were merely humans borrowing the name of God to wield authority; he believed that as a human, his own status as royalty was far superior.
"Haah—."
As the discussion veered off course, Riesta, seated at the table, let out a small sigh.
They barely had enough time to discuss the crisis looming before them; now even more time would be wasted.
But judging by the atmosphere, though they had not spoken up, quite a few seemed to sympathize with his words.
It was only human instinct to want to blame others when something happened, so it couldn't be helped, but...
Now that it had been said, they couldn't simply gloss over it.
Just as Cardinal Cordelia was about to speak again.
"I understand what you wish to say."
A man's voice, carrying a resonant momentum, rang through the hall first.
At that presence—
—all gazes focused on one spot at once.
"But we, the Church of the Supreme God,"
—there stood Heinrich, who had been sitting quietly until now, rising from his seat and meeting eyes with each representative of the various powers one by one.
And soon, Crown Prince Simon's expression subtly twisted as he met Heinrich's intense gaze head-on.
"have never once shirked responsibility."
The Crown Prince's words were justified, but he had overlooked one thing.
The Church of the Supreme God was not like those he had dealt with before—those who hid their faults for personal gain and floundered in muddy quarrels.
The Church had never intended to deny its mistake from the start.
Had that been their intention, they wouldn't have revealed everything in the first place.
It was simply that now, when more pressing issues were at hand, was not the time to discuss it.
"A thousand years ago, three hundred years ago, and in every other crisis. The Church of the Supreme God has always bled on the front lines and never once yielded that position."
In the past, taking the lead in uniting everyone's strength.
Suffering damage to track the Undying King's movements and gather information.
When the sacrifice of allies was necessary to create an opportunity.
When opening the path for the heroes to fight the Undying King in the final battle.
Even when they finally felled him and shouldered the duty of sealing the shattered fragment.
At the forefront of all those deeds had always been the Church of the Supreme God.
"And it will be no different this time."
Heinrich's piercing gaze skewered Simon.
The oppressive pressure radiating from him overwhelmed the surroundings, and everyone present unconsciously held their breath.
"We do not intend to deny the fault in this matter. I and the Church must take responsibility in some form."
The grand assembly hall fell silent.
Only Heinrich's voice echoed in the vast space, yet strangely, it did not feel empty.
"I will be at the very front in the fight against the Undying King. Should a retreat be forced, I will also be the one who remains until the very end."
And in this war, it would not be the Saint alone who walked such a path.
All of the Church of the Supreme God would likewise cast aside their lives like weeds, and that would continue until the day the Undying King was completely driven from this land.
"...As the Church of the Supreme God has always done."
Even after his words ended, not a single breath could be heard in the hall.
But the atmosphere had changed drastically from before.
Most nodded in agreement, and even those who had frowned relaxed their expressions and said nothing more.
In truth, Heinrich's words could be interpreted as, "We acknowledge our mistake and will work hard to fix it going forward. We've done well until now, so please overlook this," but...
the reason everyone in this world respected and accommodated the Church of the Supreme God was nothing special.
Belief in the existence of God played a part, but what mattered most was what they had shown all this time.
The trust and faith built over long years had already solidified into a fixed perception, becoming an intangible asset that wielded immense authority.
"...Well, let us wait and see."
And Crown Prince Simon was no different.
He simply smiled an awkward smile and leaned back against his chair.
Realizing his original goal had failed the moment the atmosphere shifted, he quickly changed course. 'Too much is as bad as too little. Best to stop here for now. There will be plenty of opportunities ahead.' Of course, he hadn't given up completely.
His sunken gaze turned toward Heinrich, who radiated a presence that seemed to draw all eyes.
A stalwart Holy Knight, pious, noble, and brimming with a sense of justice. 'The Saint, Heinrich...' And he was not the only one sending such a gaze.
That intense impression was etched deeply into everyone's minds, and accordingly, gazes filled with all manner of emotions converged on Heinrich.
This much could be considered a successful debut as a Saint. 'Whew
—I barely managed to clean that up. Still, I did pretty well, didn't I?' Though, of course, he had simply cleaned up his own mess.