CH 613

Eleion Bolton was waiting for spatial teleportation at the warp spot.

The Popes were aware that the Demon King's following was growing. And although Eleion Bolton did not know the details, he could clearly sense the growing atmosphere.

However, that was not what was important.

The Church's forces in the Imperial Capital had already been infiltrated by the Demon King's followers, and it was clear that Rowan was the key figure.

But the only forces that had fallen were those of the Five Great Churches and Holy Knights in the Imperial Capital.

The Alliance Army.

While the Holy Knights and priests that Eleion Bolton had always commanded could potentially support the Demon King, they could not be controlled by Rowan.

The bond they had formed through countless battles and shared experiences was not something that could be easily betrayed.

Therefore, compared to the Holy Knights and priests of the Alliance Army, the Holy Knights and priests in the Imperial Capital were merely a handful.

Although a Holy Knight Commander's actual rank might be lower than that of a Pope, his authority and power were immense.

Rowan had merely managed to get that much control.

A Holy Knight Commander could stage a coup at any time if they wished, and this still held true.

If Eleion Bolton returned to the Alliance Army base with a large force of Holy Knights, he had enough military power to completely eradicate the corrupt forces in the Imperial Capital and then some.

Eleion Bolton was the mastermind behind the insane act of attempting to eliminate the enemy's leader in the midst of enemy territory.

It was only possible because the elite Holy Knights who carried out this order were Eleion Bolton's people, but even they had been killed by Rowan.

He had underestimated Rowan's combat ability. It was clear that Rowan had been hiding her true strength.

Eleion Bolton intended to return to the Alliance Army base after carefully selecting those who could be trained among the remaining individuals and those who had not been caught by Rowan.

The priests and Holy Knights in the Imperial Capital were already beyond the control of the Popes and the Holy Knight Commander.

Although it was unclear what could be done, he had to return to the Alliance Army base and think it through.

Since the place he thought was home had turned out to be enemy territory, he needed to sort out his thoughts in a secure situation.

"What will happen... going forward?"

"I don't know."

It was infuriating that the Popes had handed over the entire church to the Demon King, especially since they were not the ones who had the authority to make decisions about the church in the first place.

Moreover, they had been ordering Rowan's people to track Rowan down.

The priests and Holy Knights in the Imperial Capital were dangerous.

He had to leave.

That was why Eleion Bolton was waiting for the mass teleportation magic to return to the Alliance Army at the warp spot.

"Once we return, we'll head straight to the base. There's no guarantee that Rowan's schemes haven't reached there as well. We'll verify that first, then decide how to handle this situation..."

He had ruined everything.

Eleion Bolton felt like biting his tongue at the thought that he had messed everything up.

He would return first.

Once he returned, then.

What would be next?

A civil war could break out if anything went wrong.

This place was no different from enemy territory.

The Holy Knights and priests of the Alliance Army respected the Holy Knight Commander more than the Popes. While some supported the Demon King, it was merely out of sympathy, and they genuinely followed Eleion Bolton, who had led them in battle. Therefore, they had no choice but to be on Eleion Bolton's side entirely.

Right now, Eleion Bolton was like a commander who had abandoned his army and jumped into enemy territory.

As long as he could return as he was, and if he could bring the army with him, control of the situation would be in the hands of Eleion Bolton.

He had no intention of usurping the authority of the popes.

However, if the authority of the popes became worthless, it was a problem he couldn't ignore.

It meant that the Holy Order had completely lost its function as an order.

The issue was that the Holy Order had been privatized by a single individual.

He would have respected the decision of the leaders to negotiate and coexist with the Demon King. It wasn't an unacceptable reason.

But if someone other than the leaders was already controlling the Holy Order, it shouldn't exist in such a way.

The popes were incompetent.

And so was Eleion Bolton.

He thought he was reading the situation, but he was only looking up.

The empire, the Demon King, the emperor.

He only thought about such things, and didn't properly examine the changes happening from below.

He judged that the movements starting from below might touch on larger issues, but he didn't know that the movements themselves were already a big problem.

He didn't know where to start, but he would return.

The popes were not only incompetent but also incapable.

However, Eleion Bolton knew that although he was aware of his incompetence, he was not incapable.

A huge number of holy knights and priests still followed his command.

After returning, he had to somehow deal with the already broken Holy Order.

He would be able to decide what to do next.

"Upon our return, gather immediately at the headquarters."

"Yes, Commander."

Eleion Bolton felt anxious and uneasy, knowing that his return could become the signal for a massive civil war.

Whether to adapt to the situation, what would happen with the collusion with the Demon King, and what would happen with Rowan's situation.

Too much was riding on his hands.

How long had he waited?

-Flash!

With a flash, the mass teleportation spell was cast.

As his vision flickered, Eleion Bolton opened his closed eyes.

"…Damn it."

And upon seeing the sight before him, Eleion Bolton had no choice but to realize everything.

Having teleported from the warp spot, he should have immediately teleported to the Alliance's warp spot.

However.

Eleion Bolton had arrived in an unnamed forest.

And not a single person of his party was with him.

But he was not alone.

There were two people in front of him.

On a tree stump, the Demon King was sitting.

"They decided to call it 'Intercept'… Well, you just experienced its function, so you know, right?"

And next to the Demon King was a girl with braided hair.

"…It's our first meeting."

Harriet de Saint Owan, called the greatest genius in magic history, was guarding the Demon King's side.

"From the start… I couldn't even return."

Eleion Bolton knew that if he returned, a civil war would break out.

There was no way others wouldn't know what the Commander of the Holy Knights himself knew.

"It's really… uncomfortable. We agreed to join hands just yesterday, and now we have to face each other like this."

Yesterday's enemy was today's friend.

Where did that agreement go, when today they had become enemies once more?

Going around and around, that was the story.

------

The events that would unfold if Eleion Bolton returned to the Alliance's garrison.

He should have been more cautious, but he didn't know that, so such an incident was bound to happen. From the moment Eleion Bolton had disappeared, it was only natural for him to try to return to the garrison.

"I never intended to kill any of you in the first place."

The Demon King spoke calmly.

"What's the point of changing the popes or the commander of the Holy Knights? It would just give me a headache."

"I like maintaining the status quo too, you know. Probably even more than you do."

"Of course, I don't want the Gate situation to stay the same."

"So, no major changes, the commander of the Holy Knights stays as is, and so do the popes. As long as we can get along without any interference, that's fine. Let's not fight each other and spill blood. That was my plan. That's why I didn't intend to kill or replace anyone."

"But if we don't make changes, even worse things might happen."

"And while you were planning those terrible things, you didn't even tell me?"

"I know it's difficult for us to have a complete alliance or a superior-subordinate relationship. But the popes tried to kill all the heretics."

"I was willing to be used. But I didn't agree to be attached to the gallbladder and then tear it apart, or be attached to the liver and then tear off the gallbladder."

At the Demon King's words, Eleion Bolton's eyes widened.

"Yeah, you wouldn't have known. It must have been the popes' idea. You were so busy fighting monsters that you wouldn't have had time to think about such things, would you?"

"Thank you for not making me come up with pathetic excuses."

"I won't blame you for not knowing. It's not really a mistake."

For Eleion Bolton, the war had been overwhelming.

He was too far from the Empire to understand how the situation was unfolding, what the popes were thinking, and how the inner workings of the Church were progressing.

It was the same before the Allied Forces set out. Instead of being at the Holy Knights' headquarters, he roamed the battlefield.

He was so focused on the war that he was too far removed from practical matters.

That was Eleion Bolton's mistake.

He had tried too hard.

He had tried so hard to fulfill his duties and beliefs as a powerful Holy Knight who fought directly.

He hadn't paid attention to politics.

"So, I've decided to change all the popes. Of course, if I tell them not to do something while holding a knife to their throats, they'll nod in agreement. But the fact that those damned bastards didn't tell me about the heretic massacre plan already means they've screwed me over enough. It's better to have someone who listens well and understands my intentions."

"Could it be...?"

Eleion Bolton stared at the Demon King with his mouth agape.

"I met Rowan too late. If it had been before she did her crazy deeds, I might not have known, but if left as is, either all the heretics will die or the Empire will fall apart. One of those things will happen."

The Demon King had to make a decision.

"The Five Holy Churches will be United, and a new religious system will be established by integrating them with the Demon God Cult and the Hero Religion. So that all heretics can be protected. No, they're not heretics anymore. They will be incorporated into the Holy Churches."

The United Holy Church.

"And a sister I know well will become the leader there."

Arrows and bombs shot by others exploded here and there, eventually converging into one massive explosion.

In the end, it was both a massive unification and the beginning of division.

Instead of stopping the chaos at hand, it would later become the core of the divide.

"Planting the flag of Darkland... in the heart of the empire..."

The perceptive ones all knew that the Demon King's forces had entered the Imperial City.

"Yes."

The Demon King had taken action, knowing that everything could fall apart if he didn't.

He had intended to utilize the five Great Religions as they were, but the situation had spiraled out of control. Therefore, it was necessary to undergo even greater fundamental changes to survive.

If they hadn't tried to kill Rowan, the events that would have been postponed to the future were rapidly brought forward by a single decision made by Eleion Bolton.

"I honestly didn't agree with purges like this. That's why I left you all alone. But it seems that crazy Rowan was right."

"..."

"It seems like new wine should be stored in new wineskins."

If they left the group alone after taking control, the existing interests would remain. In that case, it was no different from not having taken control at all. There would be plenty of opportunities to hide things from the higher-ups and collude with them.

"It was impossible to just lend my name halfway."

If they were going to do it, they had to do it thoroughly, accurately.

And cruelly.

So that there would be no backstabbing.

Even during times of peace, purges were frequent. At this point, when the whole world was shaking, trying to take control of a group without driving out the existing vested interests was a foolish move. They had realized this.

They had thought that capturing the popes and the Holy Knights' commander meant they had taken control of the Religious Order and the Holy Knights.

But in reality, they hadn't taken control at all.

The existing popes had always intended to eliminate the heretics someday, so they weren't suitable figures for a reformed religious system. And inevitably, it was impossible to hope that they would accept new ideas. If they cooperated, it would be a pretense.

The popes, who had deluded themselves into thinking they had power when they didn't, were eliminated.

And now, Eleion Bolton.

He had real power, symbolic significance, and many followers.

He was, in fact, the core of the Five Great Religions' military power.

If Eleion Bolton had safely returned to the Allied Forces' garrison, depending on his choice, a civil war might have broken out in the Imperial City.

"The popes were despicable, but it seems like you did your best and still ended up with nothing but evil deeds?"

In reality, Eleion Bolton had not sold out the order to the Demon King. That had been the popes' choice.

Attempting to purge Rowan had ultimately been an action taken in the belief that it would be best not to cause such chaos at the present time.

"But since we've decided to support Rowan, we can't go on together."

However, now that the purge had begun, the fact that Eleion Bolton was part of the old power structure remained unchanged.

It wasn't a matter of stepping down because he had done something wrong, but of being forced to step down because he had to.

That was what purges were about.

And since they had decided to join hands with Rowan, Eleion Bolton, who had once tried to kill her, could no longer be left alone in the Holy Knights.

"So, unlike the popes, I want to give you a choice."

Eleion Bolton stared at the Demon King with a stern expression.

"A choice...?"

"Yes, exactly two choices."

The Demon King raised two fingers.

"First, die by my hand right here."

The Demon King folded one finger.

"Second, retire peacefully."

Retirement.

It was a word he never even imagined, worse than death.

------

On the top floor of the main hall of the Cathedral of Holy Knight, an uncomfortable silence persisted.

The survival of the priestess who was said to have died.

And the scene where that priestess brutally murdered the five popes.

The appearance of Olivia Lanze, who had disappeared with the Demon King.

No one knew how it all started, but Olivia Lanze's words were clear.

The Holy Knights and the Five Great Religions now belonged to the Demon King.

Ellen stood clenching her fists, unable to take any action, and Louise and Heinrich were in the same state.

"This... this is just nonsense..."

Only Ludwig, in that place, glared at Olivia Lanze with wide, incredulous eyes.

"How can you be here? How can the Demon King have the Holy Knights? That kind of thing... that kind of thing shouldn't happen! How can you all! Like this... like this. So brazenly. Spout such nonsense in the middle of the main hall!"

Ludwig's anger, buried in self-loathing and guilt, exploded.

"Don't you feel even a bit of guilt? Do you know how many people died because of you? And this was all the Demon King's plan? How can you be so shameless to do this...!"

"Hey."

"Am I talking to you?"

"...What?"

Olivia clicked her tongue.

"And who are you to begin with?"

"!!"

To Olivia, Ludwig was merely someone she had briefly encountered and quickly forgotten.