— Holy King Era 157, the Green-Yellow Moon...
— Day 13, 1:10 PM.
Reports received from multiple high-ranking clergy regarding powerful demonic auras.
— Same day, 1:30 PM.
Notification issued to the Three Grand Theologians and the Cardinals serving in the Central See, with an emergency convocation convened.
An anomalous incident was provisionally acknowledged within the Holy Kingdom of Renea.
— Same day, 2:15 PM.
A transition to a Semi-Sacred War state was ordered by the Three Grand Theologians and the Vessel Saintess.
Emergency recall orders were issued to the Saintess of the Chronicle and the Senior Holy Knights.
— Same day, 2:40 PM.
Through the miracle of the Saintess of the Chronicle, the cause of the anomaly in Renea was confirmed to be the manifestation of 'Takuto Ira, the King of Ruin'.
— Same day, 2:45 PM.
Declaration of Sacred War issued by the Vessel Saintess.
— Same day, 3:00 PM.
The situation was communicated to the Saintess of the Chronicle and the selected Senior Holy Knights.
The formation of a desperate squad by the Holy Knights was completed. The Divine Campaign sortied.
— Same day, 3:10 PM.
A massive urban fire was confirmed in the city of Renea by the observation team.
— Same day, 3:15 PM.
The world was shrouded in night.
-- Same day, 3:18 PM
Light returns to the world.
-- Same day, 3:20 PM
The Observation Unit reports that a large-scale fire in the Renea sector, details unknown, has been extinguished.
A correction is issued shortly after.
The previous report of the fire being suppressed is amended; the fire is still ongoing.
The Observation Unit's confusion is significant, discrepancies appear in reports, and the accuracy of subsequent reports is called into question.
-- Same day, 4:00 PM
The Three High Priests issue the order to halt the Divine March, return to the Holy Capital, and defend it.
-- Same day, 4:20 PM
The Saint of the Tome refuses the order from the Three High Priests.
-- Same day, 4:45 PM
A return order is issued from the Vessel Saint.
-- Same day, 5:10 PM
The Saint of the Tome and the Suicide Squad advance toward the Holy Capital.
-- Same day, 7:00 PM
The return of the Saint of the Tome and the Holy Knight Order is confirmed.
A state of high alert is maintained thereafter, with efforts directed toward national defense.
-- The 14th day of the following period, 5:30 AM.
With dawn, scouts are dispatched to assess the situation.
The fire reported in the Renea direction has already been extinguished.
Additionally, there is a report confirming traces of an Evil God's descent made by an accompanying clergyman.
—The same day
The border zone leading to the Renea Divine Radiance Kingdom has been designated for blockade.
Henceforth, the relevant city is certified as an Abandoned City and designated as a First-Class Forbidden Zone.
~~Another World Apocalypse Chronicle My noughra~~
Chapter Four: "The Long Prayer on the Eve of the Festival"
◇ ◇ ◇
—
Rena Capital. The site of the former Great Cathedral of Amritate, burned to ashes…
A small, very small girl stood amidst the devastated ruins.
She was a child still requiring the protection and guidance of adults, yet had been burdened with responsibilities far beyond her years.
The girl was clad in opulent attire that seemed to proclaim the power held within the Holy Kingdom of Quolia, while her entourage kept a respectful distance, awaiting her words.
Towards this girl, so utterly alien, the only emotion directed was one of reverence.
Awe and joy felt for a sacred existence, utterly separate from oneself.
What did the gaze fixed upon this young girl signify?
The answer was vividly embodied in the massive tome she cradled in both hands…
A figure known to all within the Holy Kingdom of Quolia.
The most beloved by God, the Diary Saint, Ritrain Nerim Quoarts, stood with many attendants, staring in stunned silence at the devastation of Renea.
"Ugh... this is terrible..."
Muttered words drew silent nods from several Holy Knights.
It was a scene as if the former glory had all been a phantom.
The place the upper echelons of Quolia had designated a "ruined city" was, as if to prove their label true, desolate, decayed, and destroyed.
No, the superficial ruin hardly mattered at this juncture.
If homes were burned, they could be rebuilt again.
If there was a shortage of food, it could be imported from Quolia.
As long as the people remained, no matter how full of hardship the path might be, surely they could return to their former days.
But the scars left by the "King of Ruin" had carved the deepest wounds into those very people...
Several days had already passed since the Day of Destiny. Since the day when an anomaly was confirmed in the Holy Nation of Renea. The chaos within the Holy Kingdom of Quolia had been so pitiful it was barely recorded.
The fact that they had been distanced from warfare for so long was one factor, but more than that, the phenomenon that occurred in Renea had thrown them into terror.
As a result, orders shifted back and forth, causing delays in the initial response.
The Three High Pontiffs, fearing that the threat of the King of Ruin would reach them, strained to recall the army they had just assembled, and in their efforts at self-preservation, even designated the land of Renea a forbidden zone.
As a result, it became difficult to judge what kind of events had occurred here, let alone determine how much damage had been inflicted.
The only clear fact was the near-unbelievable truth that the holy guardians who should have protected Renea had been defeated...
And now, when a survey party had finally been permitted, Nerim was being gnawed by a grief and helplessness far beyond what her young body could bear.
"Nerim. A rough assessment of the extent of the damage has been made. Regarding the plague, it seems to have spread to surrounding villages, carried by those who escaped from this Renea Central City. Along the border with Quolia, Holy Knights and soldiers are keeping watch, so there is no infection there, but it is undoubtedly a situation where every moment counts."
Standing behind Ritrain, reading out the report, was a single woman.
She was certainly no ordinary woman.
Her aura was threatening, and her short, black hair and sharp gaze made others shrink back.
The vestments she wore were, for a woman, surprisingly designed for mobility. Although adorned with metal plates here and there, they were a type rarely seen in the Holy Kingdom, where women's forms were typically concealed.
In the restrictive nation of Quolia, her attire might easily be criticized for needlessly inciting desire, yet no one in that land would dare make such a remark.
No, to even contemplate such audacity—thoughts of that nature toward her were virtually nonexistent.
After all, judgment and censure were her domain, her inviolable sanctuary...
One of the Holy Knights, tense, addressed her by name.
"Inquisitor Imreis."
"...Yes. What is it?"
The Holy Kingdom of Quolia. Special Sacred Office—Inquisitor of Heresy, Kree Imreis.
The blade of condemnation sent alongside the Diarist Saint to this desolate land of Renea.
That was the title this woman bore.
"Those we dispatched to conduct inquiries in the vicinity have returned. I wish to report."
"...I see. Please proceed."
The Holy Knight, a shield for the people who feared no demon and stood against evil, reported in a low, strained voice.
The nominal head of this investigation team dispatched from Quolia was the Diarist Saint, Ritrain.
Yet since Ritrain was still young, the one actually performing these duties in her stead—and thus the de facto leader—was Kree Imreis.
And her position was one that commanded tension even from Holy Knights.
—Inquisitor of Heresy.
As the title implied, she held powerful investigative and intervention rights over the faithful of the God. If one were to displease her, there was no telling what calamity might befall them.
Countless had been summoned for investigation by an Inquisitor of Heresy.
But the number of those released afterward with their innocence confirmed could be counted on one hand.
Naturally, what ultimately became of those who disappeared was never made public.
Existences who wield a distinct, unshakable presence within Quolia, entirely separate from that of saints or holy knights.
That is the Quolian Heresy Bureau and its Inquisitors.
Among those Inquisitors, Kree—whispered to be the most faithful to God and duty—was treated by the holy knights with the caution reserved for handling a sore spot.
"Reporting. Centered on the Old Cathedral, we have discovered large-scale burn marks and numerous corpses of holy knights and unknown monsters. Additionally, in the surrounding areas, residents are suffering memory impairment distinct from the previously confirmed plague. As of now, information is insufficient to determine what events transpired here."
The remnants of its former glory. This land, trampled by the King of Ruin, had become a plague-ridden city where people forgot themselves and went mad.
Its state perfectly matched the name of a fallen capital, causing Kree to frown.
Furthermore, what followed was a sequence of revelations regarding the most unforgivable situation for the holy forces.
"—Moreover, Holy Saint Soarina of the Ornate Funeral, and Holy Saint Fenne of the Veiled Countenance, have both departed this location."
Few who knew the details of what had occurred in the land of Renea, suddenly engulfed in an abnormal state, remained. The good-intentioned parties had all been summoned beneath God, and the scant witnesses suffered from mental confusion.
Further investigation might uncover clues to some horrifying event that had befallen this city.
Still... from the state of the wretched people left behind, it was easy to imagine that some anomaly beyond human understanding had taken place.
Among them was the news of the saints' survival. This brought a sliver of hope back to the dejected populace and the investigation team, whose morale was crushed after witnessing the gruesome remains of the Renea holy knights.
But the good news was, in fact, also bad news.
"The two Holy Saints were... alive?"
The question was posed to the knights by Kree, her eyes—devoid of any emotion, like the glass eyes of a doll—fixed upon them.
"Y-yes... according to the information."
"That is profoundly unpropitious."
"Ah—!"
The holy knights involuntarily shivered, as though that gaze saw straight through to the very depths of their souls.
The mere fact that Kree was present here—among this Renea investigation corps—made that terrifying speculation all too easy to form.
An inquisitor of heresy at times possessed the authority to condemn even a saintess.
That truth eloquently spoke to what Quolia Central had intended when it dispatched her—and the diary saintess Ritrain—to this land.
"So a saintess would flee without settling matters she herself set in motion. And not just one, but two. —This forces one to harbor doubts about their faith. Truly dismal."
Someone drew a sharp breath. What weight did that hold?
No—it hardly needed saying.
Kree was considering a formal heresy designation against both saintesses.
They had founded nations on a whim, stirred up the populace, and then brought ruin upon them all—only to then suffer the retaliation of the Ruin King they themselves had destroyed.
How many people had died? How many were still suffering?
That they would start something of this magnitude and then flee without so much as attempting to clean up the aftermath—no reason could ever justify it.
Beyond her duty as a clergywoman, Kree felt a deep fury as a human being over what those two saintesses had done.
The calamity wrought by the Ruin King had to be erased.
As long as that dark god remained extant, this southern province—the territory closest to Mynoghra—still harbored an existential threat.
Preparations against the south were necessary as well, and by any measure, their forces were insufficient to bring stability to the perpetually chaotic northern continent.
As long saintesses serving as vessels for prayer remained immobile in the Holy Capital at Quolia's heart, any future battle against evil forces would inevitably fall to the diary saintesses.
Given that the situation in the El-Na Spirit Contract Union could by no means be ignored, the weight of responsibility pressing down on the girl standing aimlessly before her eyes was staggering.
The sense of urgency Kree harbored regarding the circumstances closing in around her had grown sharp enough to provoke a dull, throbbing headache.
But begin she must.
For what can be done—that is all she is permitted to do...
"Nerim."
Kree addressed the girl beside her.
She even knelt to meet her at eye level, though her expression remained as unreadable as ever, the severity from moments before entirely gone.
"Oh, yes. What is it, Imreis Inquisitor?"
Yet this reply caused Kree's expression to cloud slightly.
For the first time, Kree, who had until moments ago behaved like a doll devoid of any emotion, revealed the thoughts within her.
And strangely, they were of profound sorrow.
"First, I intend to govern this land. The King of Ruin's scars are far too cruel. Though we have parted ways, the people living here were originally citizens of Quolia. To abandon them would be an act God would never forgive."
Still cloaked in that sorrow, Kree continued her report, as if confirming something.
Her gaze was fixed intently on the Saintess Nerim, appearing partly to observe her condition.
"The search for the Burial Saintess, Soarina, and the Masked Saintess, Fenne, will be postponed for now. I do not know their reasons for leaving this land, but we cannot spare the personnel."
"Um..."
Nerim cast her eyes about restlessly, then hurriedly flipped through her diary.
She began scanning its contents as if searching for something.
Kree quietly closed her eyes at the sight, then gently opened them again, as if shaking something off.
"So... it's happening again, Nerim. That is most unfortunate."
She reached out a hand to gently stop Nerim from turning the pages.
"Indeed, with your power, the people of this land could be saved. If it is the power of that diary, called the closest to God's own..."
Perhaps surprised at being told she could no longer read the diary, those innocent, pure eyes fixed upon Kree. As Nerim gazed into those clear, unblemished irises...
"But do not forget. The price for it is immense. I, for one, truly wish you would never use the power of that diary."
So spoke Imreis to the small Holy Maiden, his voice sounding endlessly sorrowful.
"Um...?"
"That is my own concern. Also, please do call me Kree. I dislike being too formal."
With a stiff, awkward smile, Kree rose to her feet. There was something warm in her demeanor, and Nerim, despite herself, let slip the anxiety she had been holding inside.
"Ah, Father—Ah..."
But midway, the small Holy Maiden faltered. Since becoming the Holy Maiden, her relationship with her adoptive father had been severed. She was supposed to be the guardian of all people, not a specific individual. She feared being criticized for straying from her role as Holy Maiden by showing concern for her father's safety.
"I-I'm sorry, Inquisitor Imreis—"
"It's Kree."
"Um, Kree... Ms. Kree."
Those inorganic eyes pierced Nerim with an unblinking gaze. Unable to withstand that stare, and expecting a rebuke or scolding, Nerim squeezed her eyes shut. But what was gently placed upon her head was none other than Kree's hand. It was clumsy and awkward, but it held a definite warmth.
"Ah, Ms. Kree?"
"It will be alright. Your father will surely be found. You have offered such a great sacrifice to God all this time... So it will certainly be alright."
Kree's words were almost as if she were trying to convince the young holy maiden Ritrain...
Above all, they were words meant to convince herself.
=Message===
The Kingdom of Renea's Divine Light has fallen.
Holy Maiden of Floral Burial, Soarina, has gone missing.
Holy Maiden of the Veiled Face, Fenne Kamuel, has gone missing.
...