Chapter 60
The Disaster God of War (2)
Ludmilla, trapped in the chaotic realm, began to exert all her power to break through the passage to return to the mortal world.
She could break it.
The door had not yet fully closed.
Each time she struck with her fist enveloped in the Red Dragonâs flames, the passage let out a thunderous roar as if screaming.
The priests of the Disaster God watching her trembled at Ludmillaâs fierce might.
âThe passage is collapsing!â
âTo think she could break the boundary dividing the spacesâ¦! This is impossible!â
Boom!
Crack, crack, crackââ!
With each punch, countless cracks appeared.
And the fireballs that passed through the cracks poured down like a meteor shower, turning the ground into a scene of carnage.
âArgh!â
âF-Fireâ¦!â
Strangely, the falling fireballs targeted the priests of the Disaster God who had deployed the passage to the chaos realm, as if they were guided missiles aiming for specific targets.
The priests, engulfed in flames, died in terrible agony while letting out sharp screams.
âHuff, huffâ¦! So this is the power of one of the Seven Strongest in the Empire!â
The elderly man who had been the first to be attacked by the Red Dragonâs flames struggled to his feet, supported by the priest knights.
Half of his face had melted away.
His body, which had been engulfed in flames, was also in tatters.
It was a fatal wound that could lead to death at any moment.
If they didnât retreat quickly, all their forces, including himself, would perish under the falling fireballs.
âAriel! Why is there still no signal! Could it be⦠she failed?â
He waited for a signal with an anxious heart.
But the Fresh Blood Apostle who had attacked the imperial palace remained silent.
Was there no choice but to give up?
He exhaled despair as he watched the slowly collapsing passage to the chaos realm.
Grooooooarââ!!!
The flames burning the half-collapsed barrier began to take on a massive form.
It was the head of a red dragon.
The dragon made of flames bared its sharp teeth and roared.
The dragonâs anger, vowing never to forgive those who had invaded the empire, could be felt.
âSt-Strategist!â
âPlease make a decision quickly!â
The priests who had narrowly escaped the catastrophe urged the Strategist to retreat.
There was no chance of victory.
Staying would only result in a pointless death.
They had completely lost their will to fight at the sight of the fiercely burning red dragon.
Even the fanatics willing to die for their worshiped Disaster God were terrified by Ludmillaâs might.
âFor now, letâs retreat from hereâ¦â
Just as the Strategist, sensing their disadvantage, opened his mouth while swallowing hard,
An unbelievable change occurred.
The flames stopped.
The Red Dragonâs flames that had completely enveloped the barrier subsided.
The Strategist and the priests of the Disaster God were bewildered by this unexpected situation.
The flames that had seemed about to shatter the barrier at any moment had vanished without a trace.
âââââââ
One more strike and she could break the barrier.
She could get out now.
Ludmilla raised flames, fueled by the anger burning in her chest.
She intended to sentence those who had burned the imperial capital to the most horrific death.
But suddenly,
An unexpected event occurred.
She detected an immense divine status that pierced through her intuition.
âTo think such a terrifying divine status exists⦠It suddenly began to erupt.â
Ludmilla immediately stopped her attack upon discovering the divine status flowing from the other side of the space.
She sensed a presence more frightening than any opponent she had faced so far.
It was unbelievable.
A power approaching that of a âcalamityâ was spreading.
The divine status that had suddenly explosively increased was expanding endlessly, knowing no limits.
Ludmilla felt a fear that choked her breath.
She momentarily felt dizzy at the thought that this tremendous divine status, which even she couldnât gauge her chances against, might threaten the empire.
âIf this is the true power behind the groups that worship the Disaster Godâ¦! I must stop it immediately! Judging by its presence, the space where it exists is connected to the imperial capital!â
She couldnât stand by idly.
If the being that was continuously expanding its divine status were to fall into the Valtarian Empire, it would lead to the worst catastrophe in history.
Ludmilla clenched her fist, showing signs of urgency.
The space where the expanding divine status was felt.
Targeting that location, Ludmilla prepared to destroy the barrier of the chaos realm.
She had to prevent the unidentified, terrifyingly powerful divine status from descending upon the Valtarian Empire.
With this judgment, Ludmilla put aside her immediate return to the mortal world.
ââ¦â¦â
A space she was encountering for the first time.
An unknown realm beyond comprehension.
Ludmilla, having destroyed the boundary of the chaos realm, descended into the fairiesâ paradise where fierce battles had just taken place.
As soon as she entered the realm, Ludmilla witnessed guns and cannons spread out in the air.
Her gaze met with the immense divine status controlling the numerous firearms.
A calamity clad in pitch-black armor.
Even just facing off for a moment made both her hands tremble.
An overwhelming aura that made it difficult to predict victory or defeat was overflowing from the pitch-black calamity.
But despite being such a fearsome existence, strangely, there was a sense of familiarity.
The smell of gunpowder emanating from him felt familiar, even beyond that, almost intimate.
âYou. Noâ¦, Edanant.â
She spoke his name with a trembling heart.
It might be a misunderstanding.
But the precious memories they had shared so far told her it was the truth.
Then, Ludmilla took a step forward with an expression of certainty.
She wanted to hea in detail exactly what was going on.
âCould it be that you were⦠the Warmonger I had been searching for all this time?â
Ludmilla, looking at the guns and cannons neatly arrayed like a regiment armed with gunpowder weapons, recalled the sixth member of the Saintess Party, the Warmonger.
The Warmonger.
The mysterious hero who led to victory in the Third Racial War.
She remembered reading somewhere that whenever this unidentified figure accompanying the Saintess Party intervened on the battlefield, fierce gunshots rang out like thunder and lightning.
Recalling this, Ludmilla finally reached the truth.
ââ¦â¦â
âDonât try to evade me with silence, Edanant!â
Edanant exercised his right to remain silent in response to Ludmillaâs question.
It was a reaction he typically showed when faced with situations difficult to respond to carelessly.
Immediately, a sharp voice flew at him.
âHow did you know?â
âThe Imperial Princess has her ways of knowing.â
She knew by his scent.
The memories they had shared together spoke of who he was.
Unable to give such an embarrassing answer, Ludmilla blushed and evaded a direct response.
âIâm completely caught, so deception is impossible. It would be foolish to try making excuses, as I couldnât deceive Your Highness anyway.â
This must be what they call being caught red-handed.
Edanant let out a heavy sigh.
âAs Your Highness says, itâs true. I am⦠the Warmonger, a distorted member of the Saintess Party.â
âI see, so it is true.â
âAnd as you can see, I am a Meiros who serves the Disaster God of War.â
ââ¦â¦â
The Disaster God of War.
Ludmillaâs brow twitched at Edanantâs successive statements.
She tried hard to hide her bewilderment with her strong endurance, but it was not enough.
The shocking fact that the man she had truly admired was a Meiros who worshiped a Disaster God struck her like a sharp knife piercing her lungs.
âWarâ¦â
The endless calamities that had continuously threatened the world since the beginning of human history.
War was included among the four primordial calamities.
Even just silently mouthing the words was chilling.
The revealed truths were too shocking to simply ignore.
âAre you going to arrest me?â
ââ¦If I were to do so, would you comply obediently?â
Ludmilla countered Edanantâs question with her own.
At this, Edanant seemed at a loss for words and couldnât respond.
âFor now, Iâll overlook this.â
âButâ¦â
âI said Iâll overlook it! Are you daring to defy the princessâ decision so impudently?â
ââ¦â¦â
Usually, the more conscientious a person is normally, the more brazen they can become in certain situations.
This was now the case with Ludmilla.
In response to Edanantâs objection, Ludmilla feigned ignorance and reacted sharply.
Her voice was so agitated that Edanant finally closed his mouth.
âFirst, letâs get out of here. Iâll break the barrier.â
ââ¦You can just send a message to the Luinongs, and theyâll open it.â
Break the barrier dividing the spaces?
Good grief.
To think she had descended into paradise with such a crude method.
Edanant felt chills down his spine at Ludmillaâs action of immediately pulling out her fist.
âAh. Please wait a moment.â
Edanant, recalling something, paused his steps.
He turned his head.
And gazed at the bloodied vampire lying like a corpse.
âThis is the Apostle of the Disaster God who tried to assassinate His Majesty. I subdued her before Your Highness arrived. It would be better to capture her alive as thereâs much to hear regarding the details of the attack.â
âHmm, do so.â
In fact, before Ludmillaâs sudden appearance, he had intended to kill the vampire, but he changed his mind.
It seemed wiser to keep her alive for now.
The background of her sudden appearance.
The circumstances of obtaining the Sageâs magical equipment.
And he wanted to find out if there was a mastermind behind this attack.
Edanant put the magical equipment that Ariel had dropped into his pocket while smiling bitterly.
âAh! And Edanantâ¦â
âYes, Your Highness?â
What could she be about to say?
Surely she wouldnât suddenly turn hostile and throw flames at him.
With a half-doubtful heart, he waited for Ludmillaâs words.
âDidnât I tell you to call me by my name casually when weâre alone? I address you familiarly by name, yet you treat me so formally. Come now, call me Ludmilla.â
ââ¦Iâll do so later.â
âDo it now.â
ââ¦Lu-Ludmillaâ¦â
âMmm! Iâd like you to call me by name when weâre alone in the future as well.â
ââ¦â¦â
He called her name in an awkward tone.
At that, Ludmilla nodded with a satisfied expression.
This is really hard to understand.
I canât figure out what sheâs thinking at all.
Edanant scratched the back of his head while staring at Ludmilla.