EP.283 Blessed Nation, Cursed Humans - 6
An audience with the Holy Maiden of Heaven was originally something that would not be permitted.
The Holy Maiden of Heaven, the core of the Holy Imperial Court, is constantly busy with public affairs; every moment of hers is precious. Her time, which sees the future, is not the same as an ordinary human's. Not merely as an expression, but literally.
On top of that, there is also the issue of safety. There are countless people in the world thirsty for prophecies, and the prophecies delivered by the Holy Maiden of Heaven would be so precious to them that they would want to monopolize them.
Let alone the leader of a rebel army who killed the king? He should consider himself lucky that the Holy Sword Corps, the direct military force, did not attack him.
However, the Holy Maiden of Heaven decided to reveal herself to the world. The moment she decided, no one in the Holy Imperial Court raised an objection. They merely prepared a place in silence.
When permission for the audience was granted, Junwoong was overjoyed. The moment the words permitting the audience came out, he clenched his fists and beamed.
And Yuel saw that sight clearly with her Thousand-Mile Eyes.
Seeing Junwoong's reaction, Yuel felt proud of herself, feeling that there was worth in waking the Holy Maiden of Heaven.
However. The reaction of the Holy Maiden of Heaven, who had actually taken the difficult step, was lukewarm.
"Denied."
The characters written on the slate were neither ruthless nor mild. They merely listed the unchangeable facts dispassionately.
The words conveyed by the Holy Maiden of Heaven were like that. From the moment she woke up, without even opening her eyes, she spoke in a still languid tone.
"We have not interfered in secular politics, and we will not do so in the future. For the will of God is not in the secular world, but above the heavens. Given this, you ask merely to borrow the majesty of God? We may not be merchants, but you certainly take us for pushovers."
"Holy Maiden. That is absolutely not the case!"
"From our standpoint, that is how it is, so just listen. And now, as you wish, I will tell you where you stand. That country you newly created, it perished before long."
It was a prophecy. Sensing this, Junwoong fell silent. His body swayed slightly at the word 'perished', but he somehow steadied his mind and listened carefully.
The Holy Maiden of Heaven spoke against the backdrop of the silence he created.
"The Grandiomor royal family had power. The power to guarantee safety even before the most powerful assassin, the power to sentence someone to death with a smile without incurring resentment, the power to be the last one standing when beastly bastards who only think of devouring each other are gathered. In other words, the power to become king."
The power gained by the five lords after driving out the human king... Yuel silently repeated the fact she had learned after being chosen as the Holy Maiden.
"And so Grandiomor became king. Everyone acknowledged and served him. Though that is no longer the case."
The Holy Maiden of Heaven, Meiel, let out a deep sigh and waved her hand in dismissal.
"Wow. You did really well. You killed an unkillable king. So now. What do you have besides the achievement of killing that king? Can you firmly execute a subordinate who breaks the laws? Can you overcome an attack by remnants consumed with vengeance? Or can you create a flawless system?"
She didn't even wait for an answer. Meiel spoke casually, as if she had already seen the answer.
"There isn't any. No matter how hard you try, you die in the chaos and the country completely crumbles to dust, completely crumbles."
"In what way..."
"The way the country falls? There are so many that I don't know such details."
Meiel cut off Junwoong's words.
"Imagine building a castle on a wave-battered sandy beach. No matter how much effort you put in, the sandcastle will collapse, right? But how it collapses will change depending on how you act. If I see the outer wall collapsing from the sea breeze and point that out, you will reinforce the outer wall, right? By building it thicker, or creating supports. Or by building the wall at an angle."
"...I suppose I would."
"Even if you do, a few hours later, the high tide will rush in and return everything to a handful of sand. It's a fact everyone knows, but if I am the only one who tells you even that fact, you might move the sandcastle entirely. Or, you might try to build a huge embankment to block the tide. Whether it works or not."
In the end, the country Junwoong created would perish. The Holy Maiden of Heaven lightly prophesied the rise and fall of a nation.
"Even if you call it a prophecy, it's only to that extent in the end. Even if you came to ask for my help from the start, I had no way to help you. Because you die and the country perishes."
Firm. Death and destruction flow from the prophet's mouth. An ordinary person would have despaired here and left powerlessly.
However, Junwoong did not.
His ability is neither military might nor power. Junwoong raised his head with firm resolve.
"I wish to build the most beautiful sandcastle."
What brought Junwoong to that position was his character. And the favorable appearance and outstanding eloquence that better showcased that character. Thanks to that, he was chosen by the king, and once bridged the huge gap between the kingdom and the masses alone.
His talent was displayed even before the Holy Maiden.
"As they say, no flower remains red for ten days. Flowers wither someday. Humans die someday. Nations decline someday. In that process, it will become ugly, vicious, and miserable. It is the law of nature that no one wants, but everyone must accept. However."
At that moment, Yuel and Junwoong's eyes met. Junwoong smiled with flawless hope, as if to show her.
"But the masses rose up. A country newly created by the will of the masses will be young and vibrant. Even if it declines someday, this country will surely boast its radiant youth to the world. It can create a future no one has seen! Because it is a nation that rose with the power of all people, not a single king!"
Looking back on it now, Yuel thought it probably wasn't a coincidence. Because Junwoong had been throwing smiles at everyone from the very beginning.
It was just Yuel who got caught by it.
"I'm telling you that's not possible. You, the destroyer, didn't have that kind of ability."
"I am well aware of that. But! That is precisely why I have come here! To borrow that ability!"
"Even if there were someone with that ability, what would they lack to join in building a castle out of sand..."
Meiel, who was speaking, suddenly turned her head with a look of horror. Surely, the Holy Maiden of Heaven must have read the future.
Because Yuel, moved by the story of the sandcastle, had decided to help Junwoong.
"Dear God, Yuel!"
"Junwoong Valliorant! I am Yuel. And a Holy Maiden! The Holy Maiden is not bound by prophecies. I can give you a future no one has seen!"
Yuel watched the fall of the kingdom with her Thousand-Mile Eyes. She watched everything: the struggle of the humans who could no longer bear it and rose up, the century-defining duel that the desperate cry waged against the nation, the roars vomited by the masses.
It must have been hard for the Holy Maiden of Heaven to understand. The emotions drawn out by the masses to bring down the reigning king, the ideologies attached to incite their neighbors, and even the fierce battles and dreams.
"Yuel! Ah, you were still too young! Too young...!"
Watching from afar did not mean it was safe. Perhaps, taking in every scene without filter made her even more deeply moved.
"Holy Maiden of Heaven. Please permit it. He killed an unkillable king. He might just create a country that cannot be created."
"That is not his power! Yuel, you must have seen how that death was possible!"
The Holy Maiden of Heaven told Yuel to watch how King Grandiomor dies. Yuel had sufficiently guessed the reason. Because King Grandiomor does not exist in Meiel's future, she likely doesn't know how he died. Therefore, she asked Yuel, who could see the scene directly.
"Yes. I saw it. King Grandiomor was crushed to death by the surging crowd. It was a coincidence and an accident, and because it was a coincidence and an accident, the king died. Because of that, the plan to get the king in their hands and set him up as a figurehead fell through."
"H-How do you know that fact..."
As top-secret information spilled from Yuel's mouth, Junwoong was horrified. But after his panic, he handled it with the worldly wisdom he was accustomed to.
"As expected, no existence living under the heavens can escape the Holy Maiden's stern eyes. Until now, it was only faith, but now I know it to the bone. Just how powerful a strength and duty the Holy Maiden possesses."
Yuel smiled slightly.
Junwoong might not know Yuel, but Yuel knows Junwoong. Because she watched his revolutionary process almost from beginning to end. Because she saw all the dramatic events unfold without missing anything.
Being held up by such a Junwoong made her feel like her heart was floating lightly, as if she had been chosen by a celebrity.
In reality, compared to the leader of the rebel army, the Holy Maiden was far more remarkable, but at that time, Yuel was too deeply immersed.
"However, Holy Maiden of Heaven. It was Junwoong who gathered that crowd and directed them toward the royal palace. Persuading tens of thousands of angry masses and making them stake their lives on him is entirely his ability. I believe he can do it."
"I am utterly overwhelmed."
Gaining an ally, Junwoong thought this was the right time and chimed in appropriately.
Just as the atmosphere was about to warm up for a moment, Meiel shouted fiercely.
"Yuel! You must not help him. He is only smooth on the surface and lacks the strength to lead a country!"
Junwoong hung his head awkwardly, as if deflated. Startled, Yuel protested loudly.
"T-That is precisely why he can lead everyone! Kings with strong power are common. But because he is without power, he will become an even more special king!"
"I cannot see that future!"
Meiel appealed to Yuel.
"No matter how much you help him, Yuel, in the end, you will be left alone and become the king of that new country in place of King Grandiomor!"
"Holy Maiden of Heaven. You said that the same Holy Maiden does not appear in the future of foresight, didn't you?"
"Yes! That is why the Holy Maiden must stay by my side! Only by reaching me, the Tuner, can the future of prophecy protect you. If you stray far from me, I cannot promise you a future!"
The only way to overcome heavenly fate is heavenly fate itself. Therefore, the Holy Maiden is free from prophecy. In other words.
"Doesn't that mean if I stay by his side, he can avoid heaven's foresight?"
At that time, Yuel was filled with a strange confidence. Or perhaps she was too excited. She might have been young. In any case, Yuel was extremely stubborn back then.
Meiel closed her gaping mouth and clasped her hands together.
"Oh, first Holy Maiden who blessed me. And, first Holy Maiden who blessed Yuel. Is this, too, your arrangement..."
Meiel, who had been praying like that, let out a deep sigh and murmured.
"Excommunication. Yuel, from now on, you are not the Holy Maiden of the Holy Imperial Court."
Since Yuel was also an inevitable believer, her heart sinking at the word 'excommunication' was unavoidable. But soon, she realized something from Meiel's words.
That she was not the Holy Maiden 'of the Holy Imperial Court' meant she was still a Holy Maiden. The Holy Maiden is a path set by heaven, so no matter how she acts, it is not a problem. The Holy Imperial Court will not interfere.
"...So, do as you please. No matter how you use that power, the Holy Imperial Court has not interfered at all. Try to achieve it solely with Yuel's power. The future I could not see."
Only slightly, but Yuel felt regret. It would be a lie to say she didn't expect the Holy Imperial Court's help. Yuel had great abilities, but they were nothing compared to the Holy Imperial Court, and what supported the power and faith of the Holy Imperial Court was the future monopolized by the Holy Maiden.
However, Yuel was a Holy Maiden who saw futures not yet reached, and was free from destined fate. Yuel had confidence.
With her Thousand-Mile Eyes, she peeked at and learned all the secrets and knowledge of the world. She can see everything she wants to see. She can find enemies and lead allies to the right places.
She also had a few helpful people in mind. They were Taoists of the Zhimoshin Cult, who had different intentions from the Holy Imperial Court, but if they were helpful, what was wrong with using them?
Even while watching the rebellion that occurred in the kingdom, she would often think, 'If it were me, I would have ordered it differently there, and that would have been better.' Rolling around in bed, she would spread countless wings of imagination.
With her power, she could jump right into the middle of these creaking people and make everything optimal.
At that time, Yuel truly believed so.
***
Opening the door and entering, an unpleasantly refreshing scent brushed my nose.
A stone room dimly lit by a single magical lamp. Countless urns are scattered about. On the solemn wall, a small portrait and a placard are hung, and a cross stands tall, looking down upon them.
This composition, it felt somewhat familiar. Searching my memory, I soon realized the source of that déjà vu.
Isn't it similar to the composition of that room when I met Tir in Tantalus?
Captain Aby looked around and said,
"...Reporting. It is a temple. This form and composition is judged to be similar to an ossuary located beneath a temple."
"That it is."
"However, after the taxation ruling, all temples except those operated privately by civilians should have been withdrawn. The motives of the person who created this place are suspicious."
"Of course. A temple that proclaims the will of God having to pay taxes to the nation. From the Holy Imperial Court's standpoint, that would be absolutely unacceptable."
"Affirmative. Therefore, some anomaly arises. All correspondents who made that judgment at the time would have known that fact and pushed forward, so why..."
Captain Aby said so and looked in the direction pointed by her inherent magic sword.
In the center of the room, someone was kneeling and praying. It was a gaunt, emaciated woman. She clasped her hands together as if in repentance and was tightly embracing something.
Like a devout believer who had fully accepted the faith.
The morning glories resonate. Countless buds bloom towards her all at once. The vines grow even more fiercely.
If it weren't for the sunflower looking at me, Captain Aby might have sympathized with her.
"Sir. Please, lend me your hand for a moment."
I silently offered my hand. Grabbing my hand, and simultaneously holding onto herself, Captain Aby approached her.
"Correspondent Yuel. I am Captain Aby, a military nation correspondent. As a correspondent who controls and reports information, I request your cooperation."
The only living person here. Naturally, she is Correspondent Captain Yuel.
And also Yuel, the Holy Maiden of Foresight who left the Holy Imperial Court to follow Junwoong.
"I have a few questions, but first."
Captain Aby looked down at Yuel and pointed at what was embraced in her bosom.
"What is the unidentified male corpse in your possession?"