“No matter what, I can’t send Hio to clear it alone.”
Sylvia accepted Hio’s other opinions, but on the matter of forming an expeditionary force and setting it in motion, she was far more resolute.
“I’m not saying I don’t trust Hio. This is for our empire. Raising the chances of success even a little will be more beneficial to the empire.”
“I get what you’re saying, but honestly, they’ll only get in the way.”
At this point, an expeditionary force would only be a hindrance.
They would have enough trouble resisting the aura of the Abyss, and they would not be of much help in dealing with the anomalies either.
If the knights from the expeditionary force heard that, they would be hurt—no, they might even find it insulting.
It was something he could say only because Sylvia and Theordo were present.
“I… know. I received the report. That on the 58th floor last time, the expeditionary force actually held you back.”
“Well… that’s not entirely wrong, but…”
It was true they had held him back, but that was only in hindsight.
At the time, clearing it alone had been impossible, so an expeditionary force had been absolutely necessary.
It was just that there was no longer any need for that now.
“That’s why you can’t go alone.”
“…But Sylvia, as I said, an expeditionary force will only get in the way…”
“No. They won’t get in the way.”
As Sylvia spoke firmly, the door behind her slowly opened.
Through the center of the door, opening slowly and heavily, one person strode in with confidence.
“Because the expeditionary force that will support you consists of only one person.”
Behind the abundant blond hair, a colossal form flickered. It was silent, yet concealed a savage power.
Among intents, it was the form of a golden lion specialized in domination and attack.
Though incomplete, it was the great star of the sword who had driven Airaits—who had obtained divine majesty—to the brink with a single blade.
“The Sword Saint will go with you.”
Meeting Vitalianus’s golden eyes, Hio curled the corner of his mouth into a grin.
“I couldn’t ask for a more reliable expeditionary force.”
* * *
Find the death squad.
Gather the strength to oppose Kreutzwald.
Find a way to walk into the end of the world.
All of that was important, but just as important was laying down a solid foundation.
And when it came to a foundation, that meant establishing the framework of faith.
Moreover, the Verden Continent was far too different from Earth.
Naturally, its doctrines had to differ from those of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, and the approach had to be different as well.
In that sense, Irina could be called an apostle optimized for the Verden Continent.
No matter how famous Hio was as a hero on the continent, the Church of Ripue, which had existed since the distant ancient past, was another matter entirely.
It was impossible to swallow such a vast church whole by himself, and if he forced it, there was no doubt there would be repercussions.
If he suddenly appeared and declared, “Ripue is dead, and I am god!” would the existing priests of Ripue simply sit still?
It was unlikely they would believe him, and he would be lucky if they did not become hostile over blasphemy.
That was why appointing Irina as an apostle had been an excellent decision.
After all, the Saintess was the woman Ripue cherished most.
She was the holiest woman chosen by Ripue, a figure known to everyone in the world.
If such an Irina acknowledged Hio’s words and then displayed a new, stronger divinity, what would happen?
The priests would have no choice but to follow, even while half-doubting it.
Therefore, he had to give Irina more power.
She needed a different kind of power from Yoon Seul-a.
Not the authority to establish order and bestow rewards and punishments, but power meant for proof.
A mysterious and splendid power that would make people acknowledge a new god.
That was what was needed.
「Divine Skill - ‘Wings of Authority’ has been acquired.」
「Divine Points - ‘100,000 Pt’ have been consumed.」
「Divine Skill - ‘Powder of Evangelism’ has been acquired.」
「Divine Points - ‘53,000 Pt’ have been consumed.」
「Divine Skill - ‘Wind of Succor’ has been acquired.」
「Divine Points - ‘60,000 Pt’ have been consumed.」
「Will you transmit the Divine Skills - ‘Wings of Authority,’ ‘Powder of Evangelism,’ and ‘Wind of Succor’ to Apostle - ‘Irina’?」
「Transmitting Divine Skills to Apostle - ‘Irina.’」
「Divine Points - ‘30,000 Pt’ will be consumed.」
Because of that, the Divine Points that had been accumulating ever since he purchased the authority hit rock bottom again.
But he did not regret it in the slightest.
Wings of Authority, Powder of Evangelism, and Wind of Succor were skills worth that much.
And Irina, having received them all, would be able to act across a far wider range, saving people and spreading Hio’s name.
She would bring life to dead earth, freshness to stale air, and divinity back to every corner of the continent.
And she would surely offer Hio an immense amount of faith, little by little.
Thus, there were three things Hio had to do in order to spread faith across the Verden Continent.
Watch the continent slowly change as it was.
Stay behind Irina as much as possible.
Avoid showing himself to the masses, giving off the same mystique as the old gods.
* * *
Good news spread across the continent, which had known almost nothing but calamity for nearly two years.
It began in Hibernia.
The winds of change started in the skies above the sanctuary.
The Holy Kingdom had been on the brink of destruction, with the Abyss surging in and anomalies running rampant.
In Hibernia’s black sky appeared an abyss even deeper than the Abyss.
And with it, a mysterious being.
According to the testimony of a soldier who had been there at the time, it was like watching a battle between gods.
Darkness and light collided, anomalies and monsters tangled together, and even a dragon fell from the sky in that war.
Yet in the end, what remained until the very last was light—and the identity of that light was said to be Hio Pavlenko, the hero believed dead and the last mage of this world.
That was where it began.
All manner of unbelievable rumors swirled, but not a single person existed who claimed to have seen Hio Pavlenko, the center of them all.
Had he truly resurrected from death and become a god?
Rumors gave birth to more rumors, and when questions and mystery intertwined, they created faith.
Amid chaos, faith could not be distinguished from rumor, and so it spread together with them.
Rumors about the Saintess who had become an apostle.
An angel who flew through the sky on pure white wings, saving those tainted by the Abyss.
Most considered them exaggerated rumors, but before long they learned that the rumors were not exaggerated at all—if anything, they were understated.
Having received three Divine Skills from Hio, Irina moved as though she had grown wings—no, she truly moved with wings.
And her range of activity extended beyond Hibernia and reached even the empire.
Wherever the angel passed, new divinity sprouted.
Divine power, once practically the symbol of high-ranking priests, began to settle even within the bodies of those who witnessed the angel and started worshiping her.
And so the Church of Patience and Magic slowly took root in people’s minds.
* * *
The empire stretched itself awake.
It had begun loosening its stiffened body.
The flow of troops, which had practically come to a halt, began moving actively, driving out the Abyss monsters lurking throughout the empire.
Alongside them, priests moved as well, spreading divine power, and the lands of death began recovering their original form.
Because the number of high-ranking priests was drastically insufficient, the regions being purified were only an extremely small fraction compared to the speed at which monsters were being dealt with. Even so, that alone gave the people of the empire considerable peace of mind.
There was one reason they could do this.
They were not preparing for the 71st floor at all.
It was thanks to using all the forces that should have been set aside in case of failure for stabilization instead.
It was possible only because this was the empire—no, because it was Sylvia Verden.
All the nobles moved as one for the prosperity and peace of the empire, so the troops could be redirected and deployed without any opposition.
But how could they feel no anxiety?
Why was the empire suddenly acting as if it had no way back?
They were curious, but the reason was not revealed.
Only rumors circulated that they would begin clearing the Demon Realm once more.
How had the expeditionary force been organized, and what did they intend to do if they failed?
The 71st floor appeared abruptly at the center of those changes.
* * *
The gate to the 71st floor had appeared, but Hio had no intention of entering immediately.
First, he had to call back Airaits, who was likely active in Pierier, and Vitalianus, who was surely fighting monsters without wasting even a sliver of time, had to join them as well.
With this much power, there was no need to send in an advance party.
Well, at this point, there probably were no possessed people who would volunteer as the advance party anyway.
‘…That’s what I thought, at least.’
Then what was this possessed person doing, coming to find Hio at this very moment?
He had assumed they would be busy cleaning up the mess Earth had become and looking after their own interests amid that chaos.
“I will go too.”
“…You?”
The one nodding in front of Hio was Antiphus Praman.
Aside from Hio, he was the highest-ranking ranker, and he had been fairly reliable in leading the possessed people during Hio’s absence.
“Well, if it’s you, Antiphus, there’s no reason you can’t… but why?”
What was the reason?
To put it coldly, the possessed people had no leeway to join the clearing party.
They were people whose hearts lay not in this world, but in their own homeland.
Even if Hio had hurriedly dealt with the aftermath, the outside world was vast, and there were many problems that needed resolving.
Their homeland was on the verge of destruction, and they were surely suffering headaches because of the new giant organization called the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, so he had thought they would leave the clearing entirely to Hio himself and the empire…
“Does one need a reason to save the world?”
Yet Antiphus had suddenly come to him and said that with a smile like an enlightened monk.
Hio was not close to Antiphus, but he did not think this had been the man’s original image.
“I… suppose not…?”
“Supreme Heavenly Demon. I learned a great deal from you. As you already know, everything I did stemmed from my own greed.”
“……”
“You may think it is too late. Even so, it is so I do not repeat the same mistakes from now on. I feel that if I am with you, I may naturally come to understand.”
“……”
“Well, as you know, since my trait is Ruler, my power will continue to diminish, but perhaps someday I can overcome even that.”
“Huh? You had the Ruler trait?”
“Pardon?”
“…Never mind.”
It felt as if their words were somehow missing each other, but in any case, Antiphus’s joining would have a fairly positive effect.
He had not awakened intent yet, but if one looked purely at combat strength, he likely possessed several top-tier skills. And if things came to the worst, he had the absolute method of logging out.
On top of that, Antiphus joining as a representative figure of the possessed people could deliver various messages to the rankers.
In other words, whether in terms of military strength or the long term, it was a good direction.
“By the way, where is the expeditionary force? I know the 71st-floor gate has already appeared.”
“Ah, the expeditionary force?”
Hio placed a hand on the shoulder of Antiphus, who was looking around, and pointed behind him.
Following the tip of his finger, one could see a tiny speck far off in the distant sky.
Then it began to grow rapidly, and in less than a few seconds, it filled their vision.
“…A dragon?”
Kooong—
The dragon and the dragon’s knight landed roughly before the two of them.